Monday 27th December 2021 to Sunday 2nd January 2022
On Tuesday 28th just after sunset, if you look close to the south west horizon it is possible to see Venus, with Mercury below it and slightly to the left. Above Venus and further to the left are the gas giant planets Saturn and Jupiter. Four planets in one go isn't bad, but that's not all..........
If you have your telescope or binoculars out to view Venus and Mercury, you could also have a go at spotting Uranus and Neptune from 6pm which is when true darkness occurs that evening. Uranus at magnitude +5.7 will be towards the south east, to the right of the Pleiades cluster of stars, above the constellation of Cetus. Neptune, magnitude +7.9, is harder to locate. It will be slightly west of due south and the easiest way to find it will be to draw an imaginary line from Saturn to Jupiter and then extend the line about the same distance past Jupiter - Neptune will be sat above the constellation of Aquarius.
I've missed Mars off the list of planets, but you can even spot that one next week if you are up early, around 7am, on Friday 31st. It will be close to the horizon towards the south east, with the red supergiant star Antares to the right of it and also an 8%-lit waning crescent Moon.
Well that's covered all the major bodies in our Solar System - not a bad end to 2021 and let's hope it's a good omen for better times in the New Year!
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2021
Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset
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