By Heather Durham | November 30, 2021
Happy holidays folks and welcome to our final edition of Celestial Seasonings for the year 2021!
This month brings us 7 meteor showers visible without a telescope, as well as an opportunity to view 3 planets between the 8th and 9th if you have a telescope. There is a link below about this event below from inverse.com along with several videos that will give you a deeper and wider explanation of the night skies and astronomical events this month. The first day of winter begins on the solstice.
Let our journey begin…..
December 4. There will be a new Moon today will be on the same side of the Sun. This means that this will be a perfect day for viewing the night sky.
December 6. Today, the December Cassiopeid Meteor Shower will put on an evening light show which may be easily visible due to the new Moon. This shower occurs in the Constellation Andromeda. As well, the Moon and Venus will make a close approach to each other and rise towards the right.
December 7. Venus will be at its brightness this evening. The Moon and Saturn will closely approach each other as they rise towards the right.
December 8-9. The Moon along with Jupiter and Saturn and Venus will be visible.
December 9. The Monocerotid meteor shower will produce this evening. It will begin around 6:30 pm and conclude near dawn the following morning. It originates from the Constellation Monocerotid.
December 10. There will be the first quarter of the moon today.
December 12. The Hydrid meteor shower from the Constellation Hydra will be active today. It will reach peak production at 10:00 pm during which time you may see 2 meteors per hour.
December 14. Tonight we have the Geminid meteor shower from the Constellation Gemini which could locally produce an average of 118 meteors at peak times. The Geminid shower has become brighter these past few years and it’s sometimes referred to as the meteor shower king! Additionally, the meteors cascade in a variety of colors.
December 16. We will have another meteor shower tonight, Comae Berenicid from the Constellation Leo. This may produce some long-lived meteors that may travel widely across the evening sky.
December 18. This evening, the Moon will be full. This is referred to as the Cold Moon or Long Night Moon.
December 19. Tonight should bring another fine meteor shower for we will have the December Leonis Minorid shower from the Constellation Leo Minor. Expect to see its peak at 7:00 pm.
December 21. Winter Solstice Day, also referred to as the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter.
December 22. Tonight we’ll have another light show brought to us by the Constellation Ursa named Ursid. Peak can be expected around 11:00 pm. As well, there will be additional displays may be seen just before dawn and after dusk today.
December 26. Today brings us the final quarter of the Cold Moon.
References:
Ford, D.F. (n.d.). December 2021. Retrieved from in-the-sky.org
Inverse. (2021). December 2021 Celestial Events: How to See 3 Planets in the Evening Twilight. Retrieved from inverse.com/science/december-2021-celestial-events-jupiter-saturn-venus
Sea and Sky. (2021). Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events
for Calendar Year 2021. Retrieved from www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2021.html
YouTube .(15 November 2021). Astronomy Events December 2021. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4yVADOZx9-U.
YouTube. (13 November 2021). December 2021 Astronomical Events. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/7kGx2HJWciA
YouTube. (14 November 2021). Astronomy Events December 2021. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/wiHaA7XwjWs
YouTube. (17 November 2021). Upcoming Astronomical Events in December 2021. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/OpQ2ZGqgLMs
YouTube. (14 November 2021). December 2021 Astronomical Events. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/c8KprEGGK84
Milton Observer 