Monthly Night Sky Report: December 2021

    November was certainly much colder over Utah! The temperatures will likely continue their decline until March of 2022. I was unable to watch the partial lunar eclipse in November and the Leonid meteor shower due to cloud cover at my location. Typically, my luck has always been a cloudy or smoky sky on a night that I intend to do any observing. Next year will bring a few more eclipses with hopefully more favorable weather.

    The cold temperatures will continue into December, making nighttime observing difficult for many. During this last month of the year, four planets can be easily visible in the early evening sky. December also brings the return of two major meteor showers, the Ursids and the Geminids. The Geminids are one of the best showers of the year with up to 150 meteors per hour visible under ideal conditions. December will bring the return of Mars to the morning sky and the Winter Solstice. One of the more exciting things to (hopefully) happen this month is the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. There is also the possibility of seeing a comet if you have access to a pair of binoculars or a telescope. Read on for more details!

             

Mercury

    It seems that Mercury can't decide if it wants to rise before the Sun or stay up late. This month, the innermost planet will stay up late and be visible after sunset. Mercury will be lost in the glare of the Sun until later in the month, likely around the 21st. As the month progresses, this tiny world will climb higher in the sky to escape the glare of the Sun. As Mercury climbs higher, Venus will sink lower in the sky, bringing the pair closest on the 28th. Mercury will also continue to brighten as the end of December nears.

  

Venus

    Venus continues to beg for attention through December. It will continue to be one of the first, if not the first, object that an observer will notice in the sky after sunset. I have been surprised at its brightness throughout November, but Venus will unfortunately begin to dim towards the end of December. Our sister planet will appear to gravitate closer to the Sun this month, sinking closer to the western horizon each evening. A steely-eyed observer will notice tiny Mercury rising higher in the sky as Venus sinks lower. On the 28th, the pair of inner planets will make their closest approach from our vantage point, appearing just 4° apart. On the 6th, the two day old Moon will join Venus in the evening sky, being less than 2° away.  

    

Mars

    The long wait for Mars to return to our sky will come to an end this month. The red planet will be visible in the morning before sunrise. On the 25th, Mars will be positioned close to Antares, the stars' whose name literally means "not Mars." Don't confuse these two as many often do! Mars lies on the far side of the Sun from Earth and will appear less bright than Antares. Antares is much further from the Earth (about 555 light years) but it is also many times larger than our own Sun. 

Jupiter

Saturn

    Jupiter and Saturn will be easy to spot after sunset. These two gas giants will form a line with Venus that was noticeable in November. This trio will be joined by Mercury later in the month. The pair of gas giants are sinking closer to the Sun so if you get the chance, break out your telescope to give these planets a final look in 2021.

    Jupiter will be brighter and found higher in the sky than Saturn after sunset. Binoculars will reveal the four Galilean Moons, which change position very quickly. A telescope will show the contrasting cloud bands, moon transits, and the Great Red Spot. The Earth's moon will join Jupiter in the sky on the 8th this month.

    Saturn can be found sandwiched between Venus and Jupiter. December will be your final chance to view the majestic rings of Saturn this year, and likely for a while as this planet falls closer to the Sun. A telescope will easily reveal the rings but you may also view Titan and a few other moons of Saturn. Since Saturn is closer to the horizon, the Moon will join this planet a day before Jupiter.        

   

Neptune

Uranus

    

    The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars.  Uranus will continue to be visible all night through December. The Pleiades will be following this ice giant through the sky this month. The Moon will join Uranus on the 14th this month.

    Neptune continues to trail behind Jupiter but ahead of Uranus this month.  This most distant planet will be joined by 50% lit Moon on the 10th.       

Meteor Shower and Comet Leonard

    The Earth will find itself being pummeled by two separate meteor showers this month. Unfortunately, the Ursids, which peak on the 22nd, will be washed out by a nearly Full Moon. A few of the brightest meteors may shine through the glare from the Moon, however. The Geminids will fair slightly better on the morning of the 14th. The Moon will be present but a greater distance from the origin of the meteors as compared to the Ursids. The Moon will set around 3 in the morning, making the sky darker and the more dim meteors easier to see. The Geminids are one of the best showers of the year, producing around 150 meteors per hour. This shower is active from December 4th until the 17th, so be sure to watch for them during this 2 week period. The Geminids will appear to radiate from Gemini, which is easy to find in the sky by the pair of bright stars, Castor and Pollux. This constellation rises about the same time as Orion but will be the next constellation to the left, as you face east.  

    December will also bring the possibility of seeing a comet! Comet Leonard should be visible with the unaided eye by the second week of the month, but will rapidly lose its brightness as the month progresses. The best time to view Comet Leonard is in the morning from the 1st until the 12th of December in the southeast sky. Following the 12th, the best time will be after sunset in the southwest.  Be sure to get to a light pollution free sky and a location that you can clearly see the horizon.  On the 17th, Comet Leonard will be directly below Venus. For those into astrophotography, you should be able to capture this comet in a long exposure picture.  

Spot Me....🕵️  

    I've had you try to spot quite a few different objects in the night sky, most of which require a telescope. I highly encourage you to try to view Comet Leonard this month. For the best results, get away from all sources of light pollution and have a clear view of the eastern horizon if you are viewing before December 12th, and clear view of the western horizon if you are viewing after the 12th. A telescope or binoculars will increase the detail that can be seen of this comet. A long exposure image should reveal the colors of Leonard's tail. 

    I also encourage you to view the Geminid Meteor Shower. This is one of the best showers of the year, rivaled only by the Perseids. With up to 150 meteors visible per hour, you are almost guaranteed to see meteors from this shower if you get away from city lights and have a clear sky. I hope to be able to capture some images of Comet Leonard and some meteors to share in January. 

    Be sure to watch the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which is scheduled to occur on the 22nd at 5:20 AM Utah time. This telescope will be the successor to the Hubble Telescope. JWST will take about 6 months to arrive at its orbit location, be calibrated, and return images to Earth. This telescope is many times larger than Hubble and should allow scientists to discover even more about the cosmos. 

Monthly Breakdown

    

    December 02:  Moon passes within 1° of Mars

    December 04:  New Moon 🌑

    December 06:  Moon passes within 2° of Venus

    December 07:  Moon passes within 4° of Saturn

    December 08:  Moon passes within 4° of Jupiter

    December 10:  First Quarter Moon 🌓

    December 10:  Moon passes within 4° of Neptune

    December 14:  Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks

    December 14:  Moon passes within 2° of Uranus

    December 18:  Full Moon 🌕 

    December 21:  Winter Solstice

    December 22:  James Webb Space Telescope launch at 5:20 AM Utah time

    December 25:  Mars and Antares within 5°

    December 26:  Last Quarter Moon 🌗

    December 28:  Mercury and Venus pass within 4°

       

    Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts.  You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.  

    

Now get outside and look up!

Planet images taken by NASA.

Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.

    

Midmonth Check-In: November 2021 and Galaxies

 

Introduction and Monthly Reminders   

    It has been a mild November for Utah so far. We have seen a little valley rain and mountain snow and have experienced many cloudy days. If this trend continues, astronomers will be fortunate enough to view the night sky all winter long! I was unable to enjoy the night sky during the first half of the month, but will hopefully have the opportunity before the end of the year. I was, however, able to take some decent images of the sky just east of Cedar City at Cedar Breaks. I will share some of my favorites at the end of this post.

    Observers still have a few exciting astronomical events coming up in November. On the morning of the17th, the Leonid meteor shower will peak with only the brightest of meteors being visible due to the nearly Full Moon. If you get the chance, get to dark sky place after Thanksgiving and you should hopefully still be able to see some of these meteors. Coinciding with the Full Moon this month, Utah will experience a partial lunar eclipse. The eclipse will begin around 11 pm Utah time on the 18th and continue through the night. It will end just after 5 in the morning on the 19th. For Utahans, this eclipse will not be a total lunar eclipse, but an observer should still be able to see the shadow of the Earth move across the Moon. The next lunar eclipse over Utah will occur in May 2022.   

Think About This....💡

    I am constantly sharing images that I've taken of the Milky Way band from some remote area, but have never really talked about what the Milky Way band is. Hopefully most of my readers know that our Sun is just one of billions of stars that are a part of the Milky Way galaxy. The images that I take are of just one spiral arm of our galaxy that we call home. Typically, the images are towards the center of our galaxy, which contains a black hole. Galaxies are made up of billions of stars, dust, gas, planets, and anything else you can image. Galaxies are, in a way, like humans. They come in many different shapes and sizes, but are still made up of the same materials. 

    

    There are four main types of galaxies, spiral, barred-spiral, elliptical, and irregular. When I think of a galaxy, usually an image of a spiral galaxy comes to mind. These galaxies have a central point that all of the stars, gas, dust, etc. that make up the galaxy appear to orbit around. These galaxies look like water going down a drain. If you want to try an experiment, use some food coloring and add it to some water going down a drain and it should be easier to see that spiral shape. It wasn't until recently that astronomers and other scientists discovered that the Milky Way galaxy was not a spiral galaxy, as previously believed.  The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) is the galaxy that comes to mind when I think of a spiral galaxy. It is the most common image that is shown if you search for "spiral galaxy."

    The next type of galaxy, the barred-spiral galaxy is similar in shape to a spiral galaxy. The main difference is that there is a "bar" of stars in the center instead of a simple spiral. Most astronomers and scientists now agree that the Milky Way is a barred-spiral galaxy. Since we can't fly outside of the Milky Way galaxy, no one knows for sure what the shape is, but based on what we can see from our vantage point, our galaxy is most likely a barred-spiral galaxy. M58 in Virgo is a popular barred-spiral galaxy. 

    An elliptical galaxy has an elongated spherical shape but can also be almost perfectly round or a long cigar shape. These galaxies do not have a nucleus or bulge at the center like spiral galaxies, but they still appear bright in the center and lose their brightness towards the outer edges. M87 in Virgo is an example of an elliptical galaxy.  

    The final type of galaxy is the irregular galaxy. These galaxies do not have a symmetrical or well defined structure.. These galaxies are usually formed by two galaxies colliding or merging. Irregular galaxies are the least common of all galaxies that have been discovered, with only 1 in 5 being classified as such. Two such galaxies can be easily seen from Earth...if you live in the southern hemisphere. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are actually galaxies that are interacting with the Milky Way. The Milky Way is much larger and has caused these two smaller galaxies to be torn apart. If you get a chance to travel to the southern hemisphere, be sure to check these out!  

    Below you will find some of my favorite images from the area around Cedar Breaks that I was able to take in late October. I wish I could have stayed out longer to capture more images but it was below freezing temperature! The first four images were taken with my phone. In the second image, I was lucky and caught a meteor! 

Milky Way band and trees.

Northern Milky Way band with meteor streak.

Jupiter, Saturn, airplane trail, and trees.

Milky Way sunset.

    

    The next 8 pictures were taken with my DSLR camera. None of these photos have been edited, they are straight from the camera. I felt they looked great how they are!  In the first image, a passing vehicle illuminated a tree in the foreground. It ruined the Milky Way shot I was going for but I thought this was pretty nice looking too.  

Illuminated tree from passing vehicle and a faint Milky Way band.

Andromeda Galaxy is faint but at the center of the image with a faint northern Milky Way band and airplane trail by the tree.

Large tree with starry background.

Jupiter in the upper left, Saturn left of center, Milky Way band, and the remaining sunlight.

Lucky picture of a satellite flash with Andromeda Galaxy just below and the northern Milky Way band.

Jupiter at bottom center and Milky Way band with a silhouette tree on the left.

Andromeda Galaxy and northern Milky Way band with some glow from a rising Moon.

Bright southern Milky Way band.

Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts.  You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.  

    

Now get outside and look up!