The basic standard is the Pocket Sky Atlas (in either the original or new Jumbo Edition), which shows stars to magnitude 7.6. Once you get a telescope, to put it to good use you'll need a detailed, large-scale sky atlas (set of charts). Shown above is the new Jumbo Edition for easier reading in the night. Also plotted are many hundreds of telescopic galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae.

The Pocket Sky Atlas plots 30,796 stars to magnitude 7.6 - which may sound like a lot, but it's less than one per square degree on the sky. For an easy-to-use constellation guide covering the whole evening sky, use the big monthly map in the center of each issue of Sky & Telescope, the essential guide to astronomy. Want to become a better astronomer? Learn your way around the constellations! They're the key to locating everything fainter and deeper to hunt with binoculars or a telescope. Orion is much higher and now Sirius is rising below it, completing this famous tall stack of December stars. Far below these, Orion is beginning to clear the horizon. Right after dark you'll find the Pleiades well up in the east, with Aldebaran and the Hyades below them.the Northern Cross swings down and around to plant itself upright on the northwest horizon (as seen from mid-northern latitudes). Deneb is the head of the big Northern Cross, which now extends to Deneb's lower left. Vega still glitters brightly in the northwest early these evenings.Below the Moon is Beta Ceti (Deneb Kaitos, tail of the sea monster), about as bright as the stars of the Great Square. The left side of the Great Square of Pegasus points down past the gibbous Moon early this evening.For these slight discrepancies, blame the tilt of Earth's axis and the ellipticity of Earth's orbit.

But it doesn't rise its latest until January 4th. By the time of the solstice and longest night on December 21st, the Sun actually sets 3 minutes later. Earliest sunset of the year (if you're near latitude 40° north).After dark, look for the Great Square of Pegasus high above it. First-quarter Moon (exactly so at 4:03 a.m.In late twilight, the Moon, Mars, and Venus form a long diagonal line in the south to southwest.Meanwhile, well to the Moon's lower left is Fomalhaut. At nightfall, look lower right of the Moon for Mars and much farther lower right from there for bright Venus.Farther to the Moon's lower left, you'll find twinkly Fomalhaut. The Moon shines about 5° or 6° to the right of little orange Mars in early evening, with Venus blazing far to their lower right.They're once again about 7° apart for the Americas. Now the Moon shines above Venus during and after dusk, as shown here.Although they may look like they're keeping each other company, Venus is currently 370 times more distant than the Moon. This evening Venus and the Moon are 7° or 8° apart at the time of twilight for the Americas, with the Moon on the right, as shown here. For the next two evenings, the thickening crescent Moon poses with bright Venus in the southwest at dusk.As the Moon waxes thick stepping eastward, it passes Mars along the way.

Astrology zone december 2016