Winter arrives on Wednesday at 4:48 p.m. There is not a day in the year here with less sunlight. The weather in the last two months has certainly pointed us to this day. The temperatures is already seasonally colder than we are used to in recent years. And we've already seen snow.

Take a step outside tonight to enjoy this astronomical event, as well as a likely meteorological night.

The red planet Mars will be right overhead. The planet is near the constellation Taurus, the bull. The Pleiades, one of the largest visible star clusters is nearby. Mars will continue to dominate in our sky through the season, always being in our evening winter sky.

Soon to be easy to see in the west, the brightest planet in the sky, Venus appears low in the western sky. It sets quickly, following right behind the sun. The year and this month finishes with four planets readily visible in our evening sky: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and most recently Venus. Later this month, you could find Mercury, above Venus, but it is a real challenge.