When skies clear out this week look for the ringed planet near the horizon a little after sunset.
Saturn will be in the southwestern sky in the evening hours and Sunday and Monday you can use the young moon to help you find it. A thin crescent moon will be just above and left of Saturn. Above is how you’ll find the pair on Sunday night.
Wednesday and Thursday nights will have some meteors arcing across the sky.
The Geminid meteor shower is peaking on the night of the 13th (and into Friday morning) but you could still see some Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The shower is caused by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon. As the Earth’s atmosphere passes through its debris we see meteors light up the sky.
On a good night you can catch around 50 meteors an hour but as many as 120 have been reported at the shower’s peak. Look in the east for the constellation of Gemini to find the shower’s radiant. The best viewing will be after midnight around 2 a.m. Find a dark spot, far away from the city if you want to improve your chances of seeing a “shooting star”.
If you are out early on Saturday morning look in the east a little more than an hour before sunrise to see the two innermost planets of the solar system. Venus and Mercury will be low in the sky with Venus shining brightly a little up and to the right of Mercury. If you want to see Mercury you’ll need a good view of the horizon as it sits low in the morning sky.
You will not be able to see it Saturday morning but the First Quarter Moon arrives at 6:49 a.m. The half moon will be out shining brightly in the evening, though. Happy hunting!
