Neptune stands still tonight, less than 5° from bright Saturn in the south. It’s a great evening to try catching the solar system’s most distant planet.
Neptune (whose position is indicated by the red marks) is just a few degrees to Saturn’s upper left in the evening sky, near the Circlet of Pisces. Credit: Stellarium
- On December 9th, Neptune will attain its stationary point at 7 P.M. EST, marking the conclusion of its retrograde motion.
- The ice giant will be situated near Saturn and the Circlet of Pisces in the evening sky, positioned at approximately 50° altitude in the south around 7 P.M. local time, despite its visual magnitude of 7.7.
- Observers are advised to locate Neptune 4.2° northeast of Saturn, where it will manifest as a 2-arcsecond disk appearing as a dim, “flat” star with a subtle bluish-gray hue.
- Following this date, Neptune will commence a subtle eastward trajectory across the sky; the article also includes general ephemeris data for the day, such as sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, and moon phase.
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.
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Neptune is stationary at 7 P.M. EST, ending its retrograde motion. The ice giant is located near Saturn in the evening sky, making it particularly easy to find despite its dim magnitude of 7.7. The pair hangs near the Circlet of Pisces as the region slowly sets. Around 7 P.M. local time, Neptune is still nearly 50° high in the south, offering plenty of time to find it for easy viewing.
First locate Saturn, likely familiar by now as the brightest point of light in this part of the sky, just to the lower left of Pisces’ Circlet. Neptune is 4.2° northeast of Saturn, within the same binocular field or three or so telescope fields from the brighter planet, depending on your field of view. The distant planet’s disk spans just 2” on the sky, and may appear as a dim, “flat” star to the eye; you may notice it has a faint bluish-gray hue.
After today, the planet will begin tracking eastward on the sky, though its motion is subtle because of its vast distance from Earth.
Sunrise: 7:11 A.M.
Sunset: 4:34 P.M.
Moonrise: 11:09 P.M.
Moonset: 11:46 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (52%)
*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.
