Moon
1st Quarter ---- 2nd 12:17 – 00:00
Full ------------ 10th 15:44 – 07:59
Last Quarter -- 18th 00:10 – 11:47
New ------------ 24th 07:55 – 15:45
Colder now, but not as bad as last year at the start of the month.
On the 10th of December we have a Total Lunar Eclipse to look forward to, but don’t look to hard as it will be mostly over by the time the Moon rises about 4pm in the north east, partly covered by the Earth’s shadow.
Planets
On the 1st of December, Neptune rises at 12:45pm and sets at 10:15pm so is only available from when it is at its highest, due south to when it sets in the WSW. This has been its path for several months. At the end of December it will rise at 10:45am and set at 8:15pm, but as the sky gets dark when it’s due south we only see it for about 3 hours each night.
Uranus rises in the 1st at 1:30pm, broad daylight, and sets at 1:15am. But we see more of it than we do of Neptune as it rises later and climbs higher. As it’s closer to us and brighter, we can study it more effectively. Neptune hardly ever gets to be more than a blue/green dot in the sky. At the end of the month Uranus rises at 11:30pm, daylight, morning actually, and sets at 11:30am.
Mars, now at 7 arcsec and mag 0.7, is getting a little brighter but is still a bit small for detail on the disc. It rises on the 1st at 11:30pm, under the belly of Leo, and sets at 1pm, middle of the day. So all we see of it as from when it rises to when it gets to it’s highest in the sky, at due south, 45° up, at dawn. By month’s end it rises at 10:30pm and sets at 11:30am. During the month it will have moved from under the belly of Leo to behind its rear legs. It will also have got closer to Earth and will present a mag 0.2 and 9 arcsec disc, so will be worth a try at photography and more careful visual study. Its closest approach will be in March next year and will brighten to mag –1.2 and present a 14 arcsec disc.
Venus doesn’t have a good month in December, it rises soon after the Sun so won’t be visible in the mornings and in the evenings it’ll be too close to the Sun for the first half of the month to be worth it but will be available later in the month. But as it doesn’t get higher than 16° above the southern horizon, it’ll be very close to the horizon all the time it will be available this month. Not a good month.
Mercury flips round this side of the Sun on the 4th, so will be too close to it for safety. But from the 12th to the end of December, it’s possible to see Mercury in the mornings, before the Sun rises in the south east, but not in the evenings. After the flip in front of the Sun it will show a mag 0.8 and 9 arcsec disc of 23% phase. On the 14th it will be mag 0.3, 8 arcsec with a 32% phase. On the 16th, mag 0, with an 8 arcsec disc of 41% phase. Two days later it’ll be mag –0.2, have shrunk to 7 arcsec and show a 49% phase. And so on for the next few days. By the end of December it will be mag –0.4, have a 6 arcsec disc lit for 80% of its surface.
Saturn will rise on the 1st of December at 3:45am and at mag 0.7 with a 16 arcsec disc, easily seen. But within 3 hours dawn will have overtaken it. On the 31st it will be a bit closer to us and will rise at 2:15am and last for 5 hours before dawn hides it. Still worth the effort.
Jupiter will rise on the 1st at 2:30pm but will not be seen till dusk , about 5pm. It’ll rising to 47° high in the south, and set at 4:15 am, so will be with us all night. At the end of the month it will rise at 12:30pm and set at 2:15am, having shrunk from 47 arcsec to 43 arcsec and dropped in mag from –2.6 to –2.8. This is still a good time to study our largest planet, though it passed its closest approach in October.
Meteor Showers
The Geminids are the best this month, possibly in the whole year. They run from the 10th to the 16th and peak on the 14th, a short “season” with a high Zenith Hourly Rate of up to 120. The radiant rises in the east at dusk close to Castor, so we’ll have all night, but, the Moon is fat and rises soon after the radiant following it all night 30° behind. But it’s always best to look towards the zenith rather than at the radiant anyway.
Comets
Garradd is still with us and worth observing, predicted to be mag 8 and may be brighter, it has a tail that photographs well, so can you see it too? The exciting thing about comets is that they aren’t predictable, and may have an outburst without warning. Remember Comet Holmes a couple of years ago. So keep watching whenever you can.
For Manmade Satellites please go to http://www.heavens-above.com
And for more detailed sky charts please check with our observatory at the contact us page.