The Planets:
Mercury:  This elusive planet can only be seen the last few evenings of the month at twilight near the southwestern horizon. 

Venus:  Venus has disappeared in the glare of sunlight this month.

Mars:  Each night at dusk in the south we find Mars.  It is still the brightest object in this part of the sky, easily seen, setting by 11 PM.

Saturn:  Low in the eastern sky at twilight, Saturn is very bright in the horns of the V-shaped face of Taurus the Bull.  The eye of the bull, the star called Aldebaran, shines pale orange nearby.  The pale yellow planet hasn't been this bright for almost 30 years!  The almost full moon will cover the planet in the early morning hours of December 28.  Saturn will be visible all night long this month!

Jupiter:  Rising two hours behind Saturn, Jupiter can be found in the constellation, Gemini the Twins.  The King of Planets is slightly to Saturn's lower left, and blazes about 8 times brighter!  An almost full moon passes near Jupiter in the early hours of December 3.  Jupiter is also visible all month in our evening sky.

Meteor Showers:
The constellation Gemini hosts this month's Geminid meteor shower, peaking on December 13 right after midnight.   Look for the two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, that form the heads of the twins.  Castor is the northernmost star of the two, and the radiant or central point of the meteor shower is slightly north of Castor.  Remember that Jupiter is also in this constellation this month. Comets passing through our solar system lose part of their tails when melted by the sun's heat, leaving dusty debris behind.  As earth revolves around the sun, earth spins through these pockets of space clutter.  This frictional encounter with earth's atmosphere disintegrates these particles producing "shooting stars."  Of course, the best viewing is away from the light pollution of the city after midnight. 

Constellations:  Aries, Cetus, Eridanus, Fornax, Horologium, Hydrus, Perseus, Triangulum

Looking for a Little More?  If this Skyline whets your appetite, try this website:  skymaps.com/downloads.html.  It offers a two page pdf brochure that you can print out for free.  It has a basic skymap and short lists of visual, binocular, and small telescope objects.  It is really good--check it out!