This chilly month, we are greeted with many celestial events that will make the cold and sleepless nights worth it!
We start off the month strong for those avid star gazers, as there will be a New Moon on December 1. A moonless sky is great for observing the beautiful stars and constellations in the night sky, as the light emitted from the moon isn’t interrupting the light coming from the stars, planets, or anything else that emits light, giving us a better view.
On December 7, Jupiter will be in opposition. As a reminder, this means that Earth will lie directly between the sun and the giant planet. Technically, all of the sunlight will be shining on Jupiter, which makes it more visible than it normally would. To picture this better, think of a play. Let’s say you are in the audience, and the person handling the lights angles it so that only part of the actor on the stage is visible. If the lighting crew fixes the light and it is directly pointed at the actor, you can see the full essence of them, giving you a better view. A similar mechanism works when Earth is directly in between the Sun and Jupiter.
Last month, there were a lot of meteor showers, and this month, we have a reasonable amount, but it definitely was not as hectic as last month’s. Our first meteor shower will peak on December 14-15 and is known as the Geminid Meteors. It will peak on the night of December 14 and will linger in the early hours of December 15. Sadly, December 15 is also the day the moon will be full, and as mentioned before, the light emitted from the lunar body will affect the light reflected off the meteors, making the shower more difficult to observe. So my advice is to pay very close attention to the night sky and if you have any specialized equipment, like binoculars or a telescope, use it!
The Full Moon, known as the Cold Moon, will peak on December 15. As one can tell from the name, this moon signifies the coldest month of the year, but that obviously depends on where you live, of course! Luckily for us, the Moon will rise in the early evening hours and will set in the late morning, which is something we can only see during the winter. This is, however, dependent on your location in the world but is mainly visible to those living in the northern hemisphere.
On December 21, the Winter Solstice will peak. In the northern hemisphere, this day is known to be the shortest day of the year. Due to the way Earth rotates on its axis, this day will be the longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere. If this confuses you, think of it this way: in the summer, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, receiving the most amount of sunlight, bringing summer solstice. In the southern hemisphere, it is tilted away from the sun, bringing a shorter day and winter solstice. The opposite is true when it is winter. The diagram below is a better way to visualize this phenomenon.
The last meteor shower I will discuss is the Ursid Meteors, which will peak on the night of December 22 and the early hours of December 23. Luckily for us (except for avid Moon gazers), there won’t be a full Moon; in fact, the light emitted from the Moon won’t be as much since it will only be a half Moon, giving you a better chance of seeing the shower with your naked eye rather than straining your eyes using a telescope or binoculars.
This is not a common phenomenon, but this month, we will have two New Moons. The first one was on December 1, and the last will be on December 30. Having two New Moons in one month makes the second one a Black Moon. The same thing happened last month in November as well! Be sure to do most of your star gazing on these two dates while you have the chance of a Moonless night.
That’s it for the celestial events this month, but note that there are some that I haven’t covered, so be sure to research those! It may be cold and nippy as you do your astronomy gazing, but as long as you come prepared with your blanket and hot chocolate, you should be all set!
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