Local Sky Events
December
Check back often for updates
- Moon: Third Quarter Dec 5th; New on the 12th, First quarter 19th and Full on the 27th.
- Dec 21 at 10:27 PM EST the Winter Solstice begins for Northern Hemisphere with the longest night of the year.
- Venus dominates the morning sky at magnitude -4.2 in the constellation Virgo near Spica.
- The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks the night of Dec 13/14 with 100 meteors per hour. Look 90 degrees away from the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux for meteors. They will be at their best in the pre-dawn hours when Gemini, the radiant, is high overhead. Bundle up and go out as it should be the best shower of the year.
- Jupiter dominates the southeast and is increasing in diameter and brightness in southern Aries. Saturn is high in the south-southwest and well placed for viewing and binoculars.
- Mars and Mercury are too close to the Sun this month to be seen safely.
Check back often for updates
- Moon: Third Quarter Dec 5th; New on the 12th, First quarter 19th and Full on the 27th.
- Dec 21 at 10:27 PM EST the Winter Solstice begins for Northern Hemisphere with the longest night of the year.
- Venus dominates the morning sky at magnitude -4.2 in the constellation Virgo near Spica.
- The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks the night of Dec 13/14 with 100 meteors per hour. Look 90 degrees away from the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux for meteors. They will be at their best in the pre-dawn hours when Gemini, the radiant, is high overhead. Bundle up and go out as it should be the best shower of the year.
- Jupiter dominates the southeast and is increasing in diameter and brightness in southern Aries. Saturn is high in the south-southwest and well placed for viewing and binoculars.
- Mars and Mercury are too close to the Sun this month to be seen safely.
See our Links page - Sky Watching - for other events.
See Sky and Telescope Magazine (The Sky at a Glance) for more events.