December is usually a busy time of year for most people. With the much colder weather and the chance of storms being greater, not many people have the chance to look at the night sky. If there is a clear night, it is usually much too cold to venture outside for very long. If you do get the chance, be sure to bundle up in warm clothes, coats, gloves, etc.
To start the month off, Mercury will be visible on the first night paired with a young moon. When you find the moon in the west just after sunset, look down about 10 degrees to see Mercury. It may be hard to see in the evening twilight, but still worth a look. By the 10th, Mercury reaches it's highest point in the sky. It may still be hard to see, but you can use Venus to help find it. Venus will be the brightest object in the evening sky. Just follow the path the planets appear to make in the sky (ecliptic) to find Mercury. Mercury will start to dim after the 10th, but will still be visible to the naked eye for another week or so.
Venus, the second closest planet to the Sun, should be very easy to find. It will be found in the southwest. On December 2nd, the moon will help you find Venus (if you need it), much like it did for Mercury the night before. If you can find the moon, just look to the left and you will see Venus. Towards month end, Venus will be found nearly 25 degrees high in the sky. With it so high, it will be easier to see the phase of Venus through a telescope or even a pair of binoculars.
Mars will also still be visible in the night sky as it edges closer and closer to the western horizon. Venus and Mars will be found relatively close in the evening sky with the gap closing as the month progresses. By New Years Eve, Mars will lie less than a degree away, from our perspective, from Neptune. You will need a telescope or a pair of binoculars and a dark sky to see Neptune.
Jupiter will continue to be visible in the early morning hours before sunrise. It will be the brightest object in the sky if you look east. Once again, if you feel brave enough to venture out into the cold mornings with a pair of binoculars or larger equipment, you will be able to see the Galilean moons of Jupiter.
Saturn will also be found in the east just before sunrise. The ringed world won't be visible until the end of the month however. The morning light may be too bright to find Saturn with the naked eye, but if you take a pair of binoculars and scan the southeastern horizon, you may be able to spot it. It will be found roughly 5 degrees up.
Uranus will be bright enough to see with the naked eye if you can get to a dark sky site. After nightfall, it will be found high in the southeast. Using a pair of binoculars will enhance the view and make it easier to locate. It will be at roughly 17 degrees in the sky. Uranus will set in the west at about the same time Jupiter rises in the early morning sky.
Finally, Neptune will be found close to Mars all month, with New Years Eve being the closest they have been in over 700 years. As mentioned, you will need binoculars or a telescope to see Neptune. A telescope will greatly enhance your view on New Years Eve, making Neptune appear to be a moon of Mars.
This month also brings along another couple of meteor showers. The first, peaking on the night of the 13th. These are known as the Geminids. Typically this meteor shower can produce up to 120 meteors per hour, but with this months full moon falling on the same night, it will likely wash out all the faint meteors. If you are interested in trying to catch a glimpse of this shower, it will appear to originate from the constellation of Gemini. If you can find Orion (which is where the full moon will be), move one constellation to the east and that will be Gemini.
The other meteor shower, the Ursids, will peak on December 21st. Typically this meteor shower pales in comparison to the Geminids, but because of the full moon, you may see more meteors from this shower. Usually you can see approximately 10 meteors per hour from the Ursids. To view this shower, look north to find Ursa Minor (aka, The Little Dipper) and focus on that region of sky.
Here is your break down for the month of December:
December 3: Moon passes just 6 degrees of Venus.
December 5: Moon passes just 3 degrees of Mars.
December 10: Mercury at its furthest point from the Sun, from our perspective.
December 13: Full Moon. Peak of the Geminid Meteor Shower found in the constellation of Gemini.
December 21: Winter Solstice. This is the day with the least amount of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere.
December 22: Peak of the Ursid Meteor Shower found close to Ursa Minor (aka, The Little Dipper). The Moon passes just 2 degrees of Jupiter.
December 27: Moon passes just 4 degrees of Saturn.
December 29: New Moon.
December 31: Conjunction between Mars and Neptune.
As promised, here are a couple of the better pictures that I took with my cell phone and the one shared with me of the Super Moon. For the best results, you may need to view these images on a computer instead of a cell phone or tablet. Enjoy!
Mars will also still be visible in the night sky as it edges closer and closer to the western horizon. Venus and Mars will be found relatively close in the evening sky with the gap closing as the month progresses. By New Years Eve, Mars will lie less than a degree away, from our perspective, from Neptune. You will need a telescope or a pair of binoculars and a dark sky to see Neptune.
Jupiter will continue to be visible in the early morning hours before sunrise. It will be the brightest object in the sky if you look east. Once again, if you feel brave enough to venture out into the cold mornings with a pair of binoculars or larger equipment, you will be able to see the Galilean moons of Jupiter.
Saturn will also be found in the east just before sunrise. The ringed world won't be visible until the end of the month however. The morning light may be too bright to find Saturn with the naked eye, but if you take a pair of binoculars and scan the southeastern horizon, you may be able to spot it. It will be found roughly 5 degrees up.
Uranus will be bright enough to see with the naked eye if you can get to a dark sky site. After nightfall, it will be found high in the southeast. Using a pair of binoculars will enhance the view and make it easier to locate. It will be at roughly 17 degrees in the sky. Uranus will set in the west at about the same time Jupiter rises in the early morning sky.
Finally, Neptune will be found close to Mars all month, with New Years Eve being the closest they have been in over 700 years. As mentioned, you will need binoculars or a telescope to see Neptune. A telescope will greatly enhance your view on New Years Eve, making Neptune appear to be a moon of Mars.
This month also brings along another couple of meteor showers. The first, peaking on the night of the 13th. These are known as the Geminids. Typically this meteor shower can produce up to 120 meteors per hour, but with this months full moon falling on the same night, it will likely wash out all the faint meteors. If you are interested in trying to catch a glimpse of this shower, it will appear to originate from the constellation of Gemini. If you can find Orion (which is where the full moon will be), move one constellation to the east and that will be Gemini.
The other meteor shower, the Ursids, will peak on December 21st. Typically this meteor shower pales in comparison to the Geminids, but because of the full moon, you may see more meteors from this shower. Usually you can see approximately 10 meteors per hour from the Ursids. To view this shower, look north to find Ursa Minor (aka, The Little Dipper) and focus on that region of sky.
Here is your break down for the month of December:
December 3: Moon passes just 6 degrees of Venus.
December 5: Moon passes just 3 degrees of Mars.
December 10: Mercury at its furthest point from the Sun, from our perspective.
December 13: Full Moon. Peak of the Geminid Meteor Shower found in the constellation of Gemini.
December 21: Winter Solstice. This is the day with the least amount of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere.
December 22: Peak of the Ursid Meteor Shower found close to Ursa Minor (aka, The Little Dipper). The Moon passes just 2 degrees of Jupiter.
December 27: Moon passes just 4 degrees of Saturn.
December 29: New Moon.
December 31: Conjunction between Mars and Neptune.
As promised, here are a couple of the better pictures that I took with my cell phone and the one shared with me of the Super Moon. For the best results, you may need to view these images on a computer instead of a cell phone or tablet. Enjoy!
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| Taken from my cell phone. |
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| Also taken from my cell phone. |
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| Taken by a neighbor of my sister-in-law, Casey. |
As always, please be sure to share what you see!
Those pictures of the super moon are amazing! I was easily able to see Venus today by the moon after the sun set! As always, thanks for the monthly update!
ReplyDeleteI was going to say the same thing about Venus on the night you commented! I also saw the ISS fly over. It was to the right of the Moon and made a nice companion to Venus.
ReplyDeleteI wish I would have seen the ISS too!
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