Download this month's sky map!
Kym Thalassoudis does a wonderful job creating accurate and easy to use star
maps every month! Visit his site at www.skymaps.com for skymaps and links to
other useful astronomical sites. Also a great portal for astronomical gifts!
Northern hemisphere sky
map
Southern hemisphere sky
map
Those in the Southern Hemisphere should also visit
James Barclay's site for a great tour of the Southern Hemisphere December
sky.
Planets for December
Planetary highlight: Mercury, Jupiter and Mars.
Start watching LOW on the eastern horizon between the 8th and the 13th as they
start to move together until On Dec 9 and 10 Mercury, Mars and Jupiter will be
in close conjunction, within a 1 degree circle of each other. Mercury then
switches places with the other two as it head back towards the Sun.
This is the closest grouping of 3 naked eye planets in the 1980-2050 time
period.
Mercury will be at its best morning appearance for Northern
observers at the beginning of the month. By mid month it will be lost in the
glare of the Sun.
Venus just starts to crawl out of the sun's glare in the
evening during the beginning of the month. By month's end it is still low
in the evening twilight.
Mars is sluggishly rising in the morning twilight and by
month's end will be rising 1.5 hours before the Sun. Mars is in close
conjunction with Mercury and Jupiter from the 9-12th.
Jupiter is also creeping higher in the morning twilight but
stays low to the south-eastern horizon for the month.
Saturn is in Leo and our best viewing planet for the month. On the 9th
Saturn begins its retrograde (westward) motion.
Key Dates for December
Days and Times in UT (help with
time)
Observations are for 8pm for the mid-northern latitudes and for 10pm for the
mid-southern latitudes.
Great site for sunrise and sunset
times and a downloadable toolbar application by Steve Edwards
Astronomical
December
|
|
|
Comet Swan (C/2006 M4) starts the month at mag 8.1 in Aquila and end in
Aquarius |
|
Comet Garradd (C/2006 L1) starts the month at mag 9.7 in Cancer and end in
Perseus |
|
4P/Faye starts and ends the month at mag 9.8 in Cetus and end in Perseus
|
| 1 |
-The Moon is at perigee |
| 4 |
-The nearly full Moon
crosses the Pleiades tonight, occulting several of the cluster's brightest
stars 3h UT- North America, Western Europe |
| 4 |
-Full Moon tonight, called the Long Night Moon or Moon Before Yule |
| 9 |
-Moon near the beehive cluster (M44) |
|
-Puppid_Velid meteor shower peak (Southern Hemisphere) |
| 10 |
-Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars are gathered in a tight little bunch (within
about one degree of each other) |
| 10 |
-The Moon occults Saturn
-Greenland, n.w. Europe |
| 12 |
-Last Quarter Moon |
| 13 |
-The annual Geminid meteor shower
should be at its peak tonight. Parent of the dust trail is asteroid 3200
Phaethon {fay'-uh-thuhn} a possible extinct comet (Greek mythology is the son of
Helios, the sun god) |
|
-The Moon is at apogee |
| 20 |
-New Moon at 14:01 UT |
| 20 |
-Asteroid 2004 XL14 Near-Earth Flyby
(0.028 AU) |
| 22 |
-The December solstice occurs at 00:22 UT. This is the longest night of the
year for the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day of the year for the
Southern Hemisphere! |
|
-Astronomy a Go Go! is one year old today |
| 22 |
-Venus beginning to emerge in the sunset. Find the thin crescent Moon Venus
is more than a fist-width at arm's length below the Moon's to the
northeast |
| 22 |
-Ursids
Meteor Shower Peak |
| 25 |
-Moon occults Uranus
-n.w. Africa, w. Iberia |
| 27 |
-The Moon is at perigee for the second time this month |
|
-First Quarter Moon |
| 31 |
-Moon
crosses the Pleiades tonight, occulting several of the cluster's
brightest stars -Eastern Asia, Northwestern North America |
|
|
|
|
- M2 -
This is a small, bright globular cluster in Aquarius. To find it in binoculars
look for a fuzzy star in a star poor field. A low power telescope field will
show a round fuzzy patch, brighter in the center and fading to the edge, in a
field with no other bright objects.
- M15 -
This globular cluster in Pegasus is very similar to M2 in size and brightness,
except, it is surrounded by several bright stars. Fairly easy to find in
binoculars but the best view is through a telescope at medium to high power.
- M29 -
This galactic cluster is a small, sparse group of stars in Cygnus. It appears as
a small fuzzy patch amongst a rich star field in binoculars. A telescope will
easily resolve the members of this cluster. The shape of the cluster reminds me
of the Pleiades as viewed through binoculars.
- M39 -
Dark skies will allow this large, bright cluster in Cygnus to be seen with the
naked eye as a hazy patch of light. Binoculars easily resolve this cluster into
it's bright and widely scattered members, and provide a better view than can be
seen with most telescopes.
- M31 -
This is the famous Andromeda Galaxy, our closest galactic neighbor, and the
largest, brightest galaxy to be seen in the northern sky. The ability to see M31
with the naked eye provides a good test of the darkness of your skies. M31 is so
large that binoculars provide the best view, allowing the entire galaxy to be
seen in one field of view. Look for an elongated patch of light, with a bright,
round central core.
- M32 -
This is an elliptical companion galaxy to M31. Through a telescope look for a
slightly oval ball of fuzz in the same low power field as the core of M31. M32
is very possible to find in binoculars as a star like point of light.
- M110 -
Another elliptical companion galaxy to M31, lying on the opposite side of the
core as M32. Through a telescope, look for a large, oval patch of light.
Although M110 is as bright as M32 it is much larger and thus has a lower surface
brightness making it a difficult object in light polluted skies. M110 is a very
difficult binocular object requiring dark transparent skies, and trained eyes to
have a chance at finding it.
Historical/Events
| ...Did you know? |
|
December
|
|
| 3 |
-Soviet mars 3 became first spacecraft to soft land on Mars (1971) |
| 4 |
-10th Anniversary (1996), Mars Pathfinder Launch |
|
-Wilhelm Tempel's 185th Birthday (1821) |
|
-Pioneer-Venus Orbiter became the first spacecraft to achieve Venus orbit
(1978) |
| 7 |
-STS-116 Launch, Space Shuttle Discovery, P5 Truss Segment, (International
Space Station 12A.1) |
|
-Gerard Kuiper 101st Birthday (1905) |
|
-Annie Jump Cannon's 143rd Birthday (1863) |
| 14 |
-Tycho Brahe's 460th Birthday (1546) |
| 25 |
-Sir Isaac Newton's 364th Birthday (1642) |
| 27 |
-Johannes Kepler's 435th Birthday (1571) |
Earth's major motions for 2006
| Perihelion |
|
Jan 4 |
| Equinox |
|
Mar 20 18:26(UT) |
| Solstice |
|
June 21 12:26(UT) |
| Aphelion |
|
July 3 |
| Equinox |
|
Sept 23 04:03(UT) |
| Solstice |
|
Dec 22 00:22(UT) |
Earth's major motions for 2007
| Perihelion |
|
Jan 3 20h(UT) |
| Equinox |
|
Mar 21 00:07(UT) |
| Solstice |
|
June 21 18:06(UT) |
| Aphelion |
|
July 4 00h (UT) |
| Equinox |
|
Sept 23 19:51(UT) |
| Solstice |
|
Dec 22 06:08(UT) |
Planet Positions for 2006
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Venus |
Sgr |
Sgr |
Cap |
Aqr |
Psc |
Ari |
Tau |
Cnc |
Leo |
Vir |
Lib |
Sgr |
| Mars |
Ari |
Tau |
Tau |
Gem |
Gem |
Cnc |
Leo |
Leo |
Vir |
Vir |
Lib |
Sco |
| Jupiter |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Lib |
Sco |
| Saturn |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
| Uranus |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
| Neptune |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Planet Positions for 2007
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Venus |
Sgr |
Aqr |
Psc |
Ari |
Tau |
Gem |
Leo |
Sex |
Cnc |
Leo |
Leo |
Vir |
| Mars |
Oph |
Sgr |
Cap |
Cap |
Aqr |
Psc |
Ari |
Tau |
Tau |
Gem |
Gem |
Gem |
| Jupiter |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
Oph |
| Saturn |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
| Uranus |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
Aqu |
| Neptune |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Comets for December
Gary Kronk's comet and
meteor pages
Skyhound
Comet pages
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Music Scottish Guitar
Quartet -"Romance within you"
Monika
Herzig - "Dancing in November"
Alyssa
Hendrix - "Good Summer Rain"
