By CKR
About an hour before sunrise, Venus and Mercury are rising together. This is the first time I've ever knowingly observed Mercury, although I've looked at the sky for some long time. Venus provides a nice marker. The two will be close together for the next couple of weeks, almost touching on New Year's Eve. The five classical visible planets are now together in the early morning sky: Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn as well. The next time they'll be together this way will be in 2016, so it's worth getting up early. Sky and Telescope has some sky charts.
Added 29.12.04: Another interesting object, this one in the evening sky, is Comet Machholz. I managed to find it last night with ordinary binoculars before my eyes were entirely dark-adjusted, with some city lighting and a just-past-full moon. Sky and Telescope has an article with chart.