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December 31: A Europa transit to welcome the new year
Saturn points the way to Neptune all through the month of January, offering an easy way to spot the solar system’s most distant planet. The best time to view these distant worlds is early in the evening, before they sink too close to the horizon and set by local midnight. First-magnitude Saturn continues to dominate the sky near the Circlet of Pisces, an easy naked-eye object in the southwest a few hours after sunset. Center the ringed planet in binoculars or a telescope, then slowly scan 3.5° to the northeast. That will land you right on Neptune, which shines at magnitude 7.8 and shows off a tiny, 2”-wide disk. Compared to the background stars, the planet may look like a “dull” star with a slight bluish hue.
This is the farthest the two planets will be all month; over time, Saturn will move closer to Neptune and end January just 1.7° from Neptune.
While you’ve got your optics out, make sure to take some time to enjoy Saturn as well. Its disk is 17” across, with rings stretching 39” from end to end and appearing quite thin, nearly edge-on. The planet’s brightest moon, mid-8th-magnitude Titan, lies nearby tonight, located just southeast of the disk.
Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:45 P.M.
Moonrise: 2:42 P.M.
Moonset: 5:47 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (98%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
