<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will begin this month\u2019s tour of astronomical happenings with the planets visible in the south-southwest and southwestern sky at dusk.\u00a0 The brightest is <\/span>Venus <\/b>(magnitude – 4.7 on Dec 1 and -4.4 Dec 31) and located closest to the horizon to the lower right of <\/span>Jupiter<\/b> (mag. -4.7) and <\/span>Saturn <\/b>(mag. +1.5).\u00a0 All three will be visible throughout the month with faint <\/span>Mercury <\/b>joining Venus late in the month when it will appear below and to the right of its\u2019 closest planetary neighbor.\u00a0 In the last few days of 2021, Mercury will pass just 4.2 degrees below Venus as <\/span>The Winged Messenger<\/b> moves away from the <\/span>The Veiled Planet <\/b>in a southerly direction.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Viewed with binoculars or a small spotting scope, Venus will appear as a thin crescent which will reduce from 15% (of the full planetary width) on Dec 16 to 10 percent on Dec 21 and only 5 percent on Dec 27.\u00a0 The best time to view the crescent with binoculars is when the sky is still bright and blue.\u00a0 After dark, the contrast between the bright planet and the sky is too great for one to see the crescent shape.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jupiter is the second brightest of this trio of planets and is located to the upper left of Venus.\u00a0 Saturn is the dimmest of the three and located on a line halfway between the <\/span>gas giant<\/b> (Jupiter) and the <\/span>terrestrial<\/b> (rocky) Venus.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The only visible morning planet this month is <\/span>Mars.\u00a0 <\/b>Appearing low in the sky between ESE and SE, the <\/span>Red Planet<\/b> will be visible about<\/span> 30 minutes before sunrise early in the month and an hour before sunrise late in the month.\u00a0 Our observing challenge for you early risers will be to find the old, waning <\/span>crescent Moon <\/b>just above Mars on Dec 2 and just below and to the left of Mars in the early hours of Dec 3.\u00a0 Mars can also be observed 4.5 degrees north of the bright red star <\/span>Antares<\/b> on Dec 27 & 28.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our \u2018you really want a challenge?\u2019 viewing challenge will be to find <\/span>Pluto <\/b>on Dec 21 as Venus passes just 2 degrees north of our oldest known dwarf planet (the width of your little finger held at arm’s length equals 1 degree).\u00a0 At mag. +15.1, it will require at least binoculars to see the faint \u2018former\u2019 planet (in my world, Pluto still rates as a planet) and the pair should just fit into the field of vision at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0December\u2019s <\/span>Lunar Cycle<\/b> will bring a <\/span>New Moon <\/b>on Dec 4, followed by the <\/span>First Quarter <\/b>(Dec 10), the <\/span>Full Moon<\/b> (Dec 18), and the <\/span>Last Quarter <\/b>on Dec 26.\u00a0 Our first peek at a very young <\/span>Crescent Moon <\/b>could take place in the western sky an hour after sunset on Dec 5.\u00a0 Two hours after sunset on Dec 6, a slightly older young crescent will be visible directly below Venus in the SW.\u00a0 The <\/span>Farmer\u2019s Almanac <\/b>identifies the December Full Moon as the <\/span>Full Cold Moon<\/b> as \u201cThis is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark.\u201d\u00a0 Alternate names for the December Moon include the <\/span>Drift Clearing Moon, Frost Exploding Trees Moon, Hoar Frost Moon, Little Spirit Moon, Long Night Moon, Moon of the Popping Trees, Moon when the Deer Shed Their Antlers, Snow Moon, <\/b>and the <\/span>Winter Maker Moon.<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>If the weather cooperates (never a sure thing around the Great Lakes in December), the <\/span>Geminid meteor shower<\/b> will provide the best viewing in the pre-dawn hours of December 14.\u00a0 Increased meteor numbers are commonly observed for a couple of days before and after the shower\u2019s predicted peak.\u00a0 The Geminids are created by the orbit of object <\/span>3200 Phaethon<\/b> which is thought to be a <\/span>Palladian asteroid.<\/b>\u00a0 Most meteor showers are caused by the debris ejected from passing comets.\u00a0 The 3200 Phaethon object is also called a \u2018rock comet\u2019 as it forms a dust tail similar to the tail a comet produces as it nears the <\/span>Sun.\u00a0 <\/b>The \u2018rock comet\u2019 develops a tail because it passes much closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Compiled by Ken Raisanen of WOAS-FM – information provided by <\/span>Abrams Planetarium Sky Calendar<\/span><\/i>, Michigan State University.\u00a0 More information and subscription information can be found on\u00a0 their website at <\/span>http:\/\/abramsplanetarium.org\/<\/span><\/a>skycalendar\/ or on Twitter at <\/span>http:\/\/twitter.com\/AbramsSkyNotes<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Yearly subscriptions cost $12 and can be started anytime.<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 In honor of the passing of Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge and the upcoming Geminid meteor shower, her is\u00a0Gemini Dream<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will begin this month\u2019s tour of astronomical happenings with the planets visible in the south-southwest and southwestern sky at dusk.\u00a0 The brightest is Venus (magnitude – 4.7 on Dec 1 and -4.4 Dec 31) and located closest to the horizon to the lower right of Jupiter (mag. -4.7) and Saturn (mag. +1.5).\u00a0 All 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