December Skies
A brief overview of what to see in the sky with the
unaided eye during December:
Stars and Constellations
●
The
constellations of Auriga, Taurus and Orion are prominent and high in the
eastern sky and are convenient to view during December evenings
●
Auriga
and its bright yellow star Capella is high in the eastern sky after dusk
●
Taurus
extends southward from Auriga
●
The
bright red star Aldebaran is in Taurus and part of a distinct cluster called
the Hyades at the south end of Taurus
●
The
Pleiades is a small and bright cluster of stars west of the Hyades
● Orion is in the southeastern sky during the evening, east of Taurus, and is a distinct constellation with many bright stars
Planets
●
Mercury is low in the eastern sky before after
sunrise until late December and reaches greatest western elongation December 8
●
Venus and Mars are not practically visible
during December, being too close to the sun’s position
●
Jupiter is brightly visible in the southeastern
sky in the Gemini constellation and rises during the early evening
● Saturn is visible low in the southwestern sky during early evening in the Pisces constellation and sets near midnight
Moon Phases
●
Full Moon December 4, 18:14 EST
●
Last Quarter December 11, 15:52 EST
●
New Moon December 19, 20:43 EST
●
First Quarter December 20, 14:10 EST
Noteworthy Sky Events
● Geminid meteor shower peak morning of December 14
● Winter solstice December 21
Some website resources for sky charts, weekly sky
events, and more information:
●
astrogeo.ca/skylights
●
www.heavens-above.com
●
www.skyandtelescope.org
●
www.skymaps.com
●
www.skynews.ca
Monthly
Sky Chart for mid-December, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com)
