This month's star chart shows the close gathering of the Moon, Mars,
and Uranus in Capricorn about 9:00 PM on December 12. Mars, shining
bright at mag 0.9, lies about 3 deg to the lower right (east) of the moon.
At the indicated time, Mars should be readily visible about 20 deg above
the horizon. Uranus, at mag 5.9, about 1 deg above Mars, should be visible
in binoculars with a reasonably steady hand. Indeed, Uranus is just
visible to the naked eye under good conditions.
You
may even be able to see Neptune at mag 8 in binoculars if the night is
very clear and your sky is very dark. Neptune is about 10.5 deg to
the lower right of Mars. Most binocular fields are about 7 1/2 deg,
so Neptune is about 1 1/2 field widths from Mars. Uranus and Neptune
are both tiny green discs. Let us know if you see them.
You can print a copy of this star chart so you
can take it outside.
