Introduction
November offered Utahns very cold weather and few chances of clear skies for stargazers. I was, on occasion, able to view Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the evening sky and the Mars, Aldebaran, and Betelguese triangle in the morning sky. I was also able to see the Belt of Venus in the west as the sunlight began to brighten the sky in the east.
December will offer many of the same sights as November, such as Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the evening sky, and the joining of Mars, Aldebaran, and Betelguese in the sky. This month will bring the return of the Geminid Meteor Shower, one of the year's best meteor showers, offering a high number of meteors. The Ursid Meteor Shower will also peak this month, giving observers the chance to view two separate showers. Mars will reach opposition in early December, making it the best time for viewing the Red Planet. The Winter Solstice will occur near the end of the month, marking the longest period of darkness for those in the Northern Hemisphere. Typically, the temperatures drop even lower for Utahns in December, as well as an increase in stormy weather. Observers in Utah should take every chance they are given to view the night sky this month.
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| Mercury |
Mercury returns to the evening sky this month. Each passing day will find the innermost planet climbing higher in the sky. By the 21st, Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation, placing it as high above the horizon as it will get. A thin Crescent Moon will join Mercury in the sky on the 24th.
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| Venus |
Venus will return to the evening sky this month, joining Mercury. The pair of inner planets can be seen close by in the sky on the 28th of this month. Venus will be much easier to spot in the twilight due to its high reflectivity. Observers may use this to their advantage in locating Mercury. A thin Crescent Moon will join Venus and Mercury on the 24th.
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| Mars |
Mars will likely be the highlight this month for many observers. The Red Planet reaches opposition on the 8th, allowing the Sun to illuminate more surface detail for Earthlings to see. I suggest viewing the Red Planet several times this month, or even several times during the week to see the different features, such as the polar ice caps, Olympus Mons, and Valles Marineris. Observers in Utah will be in for an astronomical treat on the 7th. The nearly Full Moon will join Mars in the sky and will occult (pass in front of) Mars, blocking it from view. This will occur around 8:00 PM. If the weather permits, I suggest looking for Mars around 7:30 to observe this rare phenomenon. Mars will begin to reappear around 8:30.
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| Jupiter |
Saturn is moving closer to the Sun from our Earthly vantage point and will sink below the horizon earlier with each passing day. Due to this, I think observers should view Saturn early in the evening while waiting for Mars to climb higher in the sky, escaping as much of the interference caused by our atmosphere as possible. The Moon will join Saturn in the sky on the 26th.
Jupiter is another great target to view while waiting for Mars to climb higher in the sky. I recommend switching between Mars and Jupiter since the surface features will change frequently throughout the night, especially on Jupiter. The largest planet in the solar system completes one axial rotation in under 10 hours, while the Earth takes nearly 24 hours. The Moon will join Jupiter on the 1st and again on the 29th.
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| Neptune |
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| Uranus |
The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus can be found in Aries which is between Jupiter and Mars. The nearly Full Moon will pass close by on the 5th.
Neptune can be found between Jupiter and Saturn but will be much closer to Jupiter in the night sky. The Moon can be found close by on the 28th.
Meteor Shower
December offers the opportunity to view two separate meteor showers! The first is the Geminid Meteor Shower which is typically one of the best showers of the year. Unfortunately, this shower peaks on the 14th which coincides with the Last Quarter Moon. This will wash out most of the meteors, but some bright fireballs may still be seen. Under a Moon-free sky, this shower offers up to 150 meteors per hour. I would recommend viewing a few days after the peak date for the chance to see some of the dim meteors from this shower.
The second meteor shower is known as the Ursids. This shower peaks on the 23rd, which coincides with the New Moon. Observers can expect to see around 10 meteors per hour. Occasionally this shower has outbursts that produce many more meteors, however, such an occurrence is not expected this year.
Spot Me....🕵️
This post will highlight the Messier objects belonging to Gemini and Orion. Gemini is the focal point for the Geminid Meteor Shower this year. This creates a great opportunity to view some DSOs while looking for meteors! The image below shows what the night sky looks like while facing east around 9:00 PM in Utah. Observers should be able to see the "Red Star Triangle" made up of Mars, Aldebaran, and Betelguese. The "red Star Triangle" will change nightly as Mars moves against the background stars.
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| Night sky facing East around 9:00 PM in Utah. Notice the "Red Star Triangle." |
The image below shows the same region of the sky with constellation lines and labels to aid in identifying the constellations.
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| Night sky facing East around 9:00 PM in Utah with constellation lines and labels. |
The only Messier object in Gemini is M35 (aka Shoe-Buckle Cluster, NGC 2168) which is an open star cluster. See the image below for the location of M35.
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| Location of M35 in Gemini. |
Orion, one of the easiest constellations to identify in the night sky, has three Messier objects, two of which are located in the sword, just below Orion's Belt. M42 (aka Great Orion Nebula, Orion Nebula, NGC 1976) can be seen with the unaided eye at a dark sky location. M43 (aka De Mairan's Nebula, NGC 1982) can be found inside the Orion Nebula. See the image below for the location of M42 and M43.
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| Location of M42 and M43 in Orion |
The final Messier object, M78 (aka Casper the Friendly Ghost Nebula, NGC 2068) can be found on the opposite side of Orion's Belt from M42 and M43. See the image below for the location of M78.
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| Location of M78 in Orion. |
The images below show the location of the four Messier objects discussed in this post, M35, M42, M43, and M78. Notice that M42 and M43 are grouped together.
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| Location of the Messier objects in Gemini and Orion. |
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| Location of the Messier objects in Gemini and Orion with constellation lines and labels. |
The images in the "Spot Me..." section are provided by Stellarium, a free planetarium software. Here is an updated file of the Messier Catalog. Check back around the 15th of December for more Messier objects!
Monthly Breakdown
December 01: Moon passes within 3° of Neptune
December 01: Moon passes within 3° of Jupiter
December 05: Moon passes within 1° of Uranus
December 07: Moon occults Mars
December 07: Full Moon 🌕
December 08: Mars reaches opposition
December 14: Geminid Meteor Shower peaks
December 16: Last Quarter Moon🌗
December 21: Mercury at greatest eastern elongation
December 21: Winter solstice
December 23: New Moon 🌑
December 23: Ursid Meteor Shower peaks
December 24: Moon passes within 3° of Venus
December 24: Moon passes within 4° of Mercury
December 26: Moon passes within 4° of Saturn
December 28: Moon passes within 3° of Neptune
December 29: Moon passes within 2° of Venus
December 29: Moon passes within 3° of Jupiter
December 30: First Quarter Moon 🌓
Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts. You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images were taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos was taken by Jeff Greenland.
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