Merry Christmas!
If it’s clear early Saturday evening, Christmas Eve, and you have an unobstructed view toward the sunset direction, look for Venus, Mercury, and a thin crescent Moon very low in SW to WSW about 30-40 minutes after sunset. The next evening, the Moon will be higher and left of the pair of inner planets. By Monday Dec. 26, the Moon will be near Saturn (best about one hour after sunset for that and the following), and on Wed. and Thurs., Dec. 28 and 29, near Jupiter. On Tues. Jan. 3, the Moon will appear near Mars. Full Moon will occur on Fri. Jan. 6.
Binoculars will be helpful for spotting Mercury in the same field to upper left of Venus. Moon on its first night, Sat. Dec. 24, will be to left of those planets. But you need not wait until Saturday to see Venus and Mercury, and the long line of planets across the sky from WSW-SW to E: Venus-Mercury-Saturn-Jupiter-Mars.
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