Canberra Sky Events 1 – 7 December 2019

The below notes outline predictable astronomical and space events visible from Canberra, Australia during the period 1 – 7 December 2019. In most cases, the events will be visible to the unaided eye. Times are given in Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

Finder charts for a selected range of events can be found elsewhere on this website.

All week

Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are visible to the unaided eye low above the Western horizon as evening twilight ends. Jupiter is the lowest of the three planets to the horizon. It will be difficult to locate in the evening twilight glare by Saturday 7 December. Uranus and Neptune are also in the evening sky. However, a telescope will be required to locate and resolve their tiny featureless discs. Mars is visible low on the Eastern horizon as morning twilight begins. The planet Mercury will be positioned below and to the right of Mars very low on the horizon. Locating it will require a very clear sky, binoculars and patience. Mercury won’t be easily visible away from the glare of the Sun until March 2020.

Don’t forget to look for the Summer Milky Way rising on the Eastern horizon once evening twilight has ended. It is very easy to spot the group of stars referred to as the ‘Summer Saucepan’ (part of the ancient Greek constellation Orion ‘The Hunter’).

From a location away from Canberra street lights without binoculars you can see our Milky Way’s two largest satellite galaxies (the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds). They are so large they can be mistaken for faint Earthbound clouds. If you have binoculars or a telescope, this week is a fantastic time to look out into deep space. With patience, you can find brighter deep sky objects such as the giant galaxy M31.

As a starting point to exploring the ‘deep’ sky I would recommend downloading the free (and fantastic) monthly ‘The Evening Sky Map’ (http://skymaps.com/downloads.html). Print that, take it outside and start familiarising yourself with the night sky. Once you are ready to look for objects that require binoculars or a telescope, you will need a more detailed star chart. I highly recommend an app like Sky Safari rather than a printed star chart (which I have lots of and don’t use anymore). The advantage with Sky Safari is that you can select how faint you want to look. It makes it much easier to find objects. Just remember to switch on the ‘red screen/observing’ mode to save your night vision.

Satellites

The International Space Station is visible from Canberra in the morning twilight sky during the period 1 – 5 December 2019.

Space X’s recently launched Starlink satellites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink_(satellite_constellation)) pass over Canberra in the evening twilight sky during the period 1 – 5 December 2019. At the time of preparing this article, I have not had the opportunity to look for this second group of satellites. Reports from overseas observers indicate that binoculars are required to observe these satellites. Visibility times and location in the sky will vary each evening.

To generate finder charts and visibility information for any satellite for your Canberra location, go here on my website: http://nightskyonline.info/customised-astronomy-satellite-viewing-information-for-your-location/customised-astronomy-satellite-viewing-information-for-your-canberra-suburb/. Select your suburb then select the page ‘Daily predictions for brighter satellites’. If the International Space Station or Starlink satellites are visible for that particular day, there will be a link to a page with a finder chart. The chart will also list when the pass will occur.

Sunday 1 December 2019

Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the crescent Moon will form a loose line in the evening twilight above the Western horizon.