The Orion constellation above the Yorkshire Dales
This month we have the brilliant Geminid meteor shower. The moon is playing hide and seak with the Star Regulus and the Pleiades star cluster.
The Plough is now standing on its handle in the north. Capella, the bright yellow star, is not yet at the overhead point but it is very high up and cannot be missed. The twins of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, are much higher. Now is a great time to look for the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, which are in the sky, looking south. This is a cluster of stars moving through space together. If you have good eyesight it is easy to see the seven brightest members of the Pleiades, using binoculars or a telescope however you would discover that there are actually about two hundred and fifty stars in the cluster.
The regular constellations of winter, Orion, with his two hunting dog Canis Major and Canis Minor dominate in the south. Leading the way for Orion is Taurus. Dominated by the red star Aldebaran. Auriga the charioteer is almost overhead
Of the summer triangle Altair is no longer visible, Vega is very low in the sky, and Deneb can still be found in the north west.
The Planets:-
MERCURY
The innermost planet puts on its best morning show of the year during the first half of December. It will be at its greatest separation from the Sun on the 7th of the month. Shinning at magnitude -0.4. Mercury rises above the horizon at am. As Mercury drops back down towards the horizon, the crescent Moon appears to its right on the morning of 17th December.
VENUS
This month Venus will be too close to the Sun for observation.
MARS
The red planet will be lost in the glare of the Sun this month.
JUPITER
With a brilliant magnitude of –2.6 the gas giant planet will be visible from around 6pm and will be visible until dawn. Jupiter hangs below the twin stars Caster and Pollux in the constellation of Gemini. The bright Moon passes nearby on the 7th December.
SATURN
The ring world can be found over in the south west after darkness falls. Shining at magnitude +1.0 in the constellation of Aquarius, it falls below the horizon around midnight. The almost half Moon is nearby on the 26th of this month.
URANUS
The seventh planet can be found in the constellation of Taurus, some 4 degrees below the Pleiades star cluster. At magnitude +5.6, it is just visible to the unaided eye, if you know exactly where to look. Through binoculars, it resembles a slightly greenish star. Using a low power telescope you can discern its disc and the largest moons. Uranus falls below the horizon around 6.00am. Around the middle of the month Uranus passes two stars, 13 and 14 Tauri, that nearly match it in brightness forming an ever changing triangle as seen using binoculars.
NEPTUNE
You will need good binoculars or a telescope to spot this distant faint dot. At magnitude +7.8 Neptune lies in the constellation of Pisces, and sets around 0.30am.
PLUTO
This distant planet can be observed in a ten-inch or larger telescope. It can be found in the constellation of Capricornus, with a magnitude +14.5 and falls below the horizon about 6. 20pm.
CERES
The dwarf planet and largest body in the asteroid belt can also be found in the constellation of Capricornus. It shines at magnitude +9.3. It will be setting around 6pm.
Special events:-
3rd to 4th December – The almost full Moon moves right in front of the Pleiades star cluster between 3am and 5.30am, occulting most of its brightest stars.
4TH December – Will be the last of this years three supermoons.
7th December – The Moon will be near bright Jupiter, and the two bright stars in the constellation of Gemini, Castor and Pollux.
9th December – The star Regulus lies to the left of the almost half Moon.
10th December – Between the hours of 7.20am and 8.20 am the almost half Moon occults the Star Regulus as seen from all the UK and Ireland, with the exact time depending on your location. Regulus reappears during the dawn twilight for western Ireland and Northern Scotland, but in full daylight for south eastern England.
14th December – The crescent Moon rises above the horizon around 1am into the shooting stars from the Geminid meteor shower and will also be close to the bright star Spica, in the constellation of Virgo.
17th December – Before dawn, bright mercury lies to the left of the crescent Moon, low in the morning twilight.
26th December – The waxing crescent Moon lies to the right of bright Saturn.
31st December – The almost full Moon can be found close to the Pleiades star cluster.
Meteor Showers:-
On the night of the 13th into the early hours of the 14th December, dust grains from the asteroid Phaethon, blaze in our atmosphere as the Geminid meteor shower. The most spectacular shooting star display of the year, best seen before the Moon rises at 1am.
Phases of the Moon for December:-
Full Super Moon – 4th December
Last quarter – 11th December
New Moon – 20th December
First quarter – 27th December