Moon and Jupiter on December 1st, bonus Neptune
The two brightest objects in the sky at the moment can be seen at a distance of 5 degrees from each other the first in the evening hours. In the early evening in the southern sky, look for the Moon at 62 percent illumination, and above it, slightly to the left, bright Jupiter. Since they go to sleep after midnight, we will have plenty of time to observe and photograph them. If you look at the sky with a small telescope or binoculars, it won’t be difficult to find Neptune, we look for it 3 degrees to the right of the Moon, slightly above!
After dark, we look for Venus and Mercury!
Venus and Mercury in the twilight sky
Source: Mónika Landy-Gyebnár
In the lower southwestern sky, if the sky is clear, it is worth looking for our two inner planets, which are approx. 3 degrees, and then every day they see each other a little further apart. This requires a perfect view of the horizon, because approx. 20 minutes after sunset they will only be 1 degree high, although in mid-snow they will improve slightly, already 3-5 degrees high, but will be 5.5 degrees apart. While both planets are bright, as they’ve yet to be found in a very bright sky, it doesn’t hurt to have binoculars to help you—once you’ve found them, you’ll be able to see them with the naked eye.
The Moon will cover Uranus on December 5th
Uranus comes out from behind the Moon
Source: Stellarium
The significant event takes place very early, but in an almost completely dark sky – it won’t be physically dark, as the Moon is already 94% illuminated this evening. This phase is also one of the interesting features of the eclipse, as Uranus hides behind the narrow band not yet illuminated at 17:32. Since Uranus is a very faint planet, you will definitely need a small telescope, binoculars or a camera equipped with a telephoto lens to observe it. The eclipse will last for an hour, leaving the Moon at 6:33pm. Observation will not be easy, the bright, almost full moon will be eerie.
The Moon will cover Mars on the morning of the 8th
Mars comes out behind the Moon just before dawn.
Source: Stellarium
In this case, although in the meantime the small shadowed part of the Moon will also disappear, i.e. it will be full moon, the phenomenon is much easier to observe due to the very high luminosity of Mars. The only detail that will confuse many is that the event will take place in the early hours of the morning: the planet will hide behind the Moon at 06:07 and emerge from behind the waning Moon less than an hour later at 07:01 – circle. Since also the exit takes place before dawn, in theory it is possible to see the very bright Mars with the naked eye, but in practice, due to the proximity of the horizon (and therefore the proximity of humid and polluted layers of air), it is not it’s a lot, at that time there will be only 4-5 degrees of high Moon. In other words: it will be worth taking out the binoculars again to observe the exit.
At the beginning of the month, Mars is not only in opposition, but also close to the Earth, so it is worth paying special attention to it, since the planet’s visible disk is slightly larger than usual when observed with a telescope. While observing with the naked eye we only notice that it is particularly bright, we can also catch a glimpse of surface details through larger telescopes. For this, in good weather, it is worth visiting, for example, Svábhegyi Star Observatory, where in the evening we can look at our external neighbor.
Full moon on December 8th
The full moon phase starts a little earlier than when the Mars eclipse occurs: at 05:08 in the morning, the illumination of our celestial companion will be 100%. Since many people will hopefully get up due to the eclipse, full moon photography around this time will also be worth timing. Since the moonset will already be after sunrise, it doesn’t offer a spectacle worth watching (if it’s still visible). Unfortunately, the situation will be the same with the time of moonrise in the afternoon, the moon will rise 6-7 minutes before sunset, which means that we will definitely not get a good moonrise, but after sunset it may be possible to shoot nice photos of it. That’s why it’s worth noting both times, on our eastern borders moonrise is 3:35pm, sunset is 3:42pm; The two times are 15:46 and 15:52 in Budapest, and 15:57 and 16:03 in the West. In the minutes following sunset the Moon will still be very close to the north-eastern horizon, then it will begin to rise abruptly, and by midnight it will already be at an altitude of 70 degrees, shining almost from the zenith on those who look at the sky at midnight (or on those who shine through the skylight). .
The Geminids will arrive on December 14th
Geminda fireball – we also have a good chance of doing it in the evening period of high.
Source: Mónika Landy-Gyebnár
Observing Geminids meteors can be spoiled by many things: cloudy and foggy weather, moonlight, cold, or all at once. Even so, if you can put in just a little time to meteor-gazing, it will still be worth it, as this is still the best meteor shower of the year, and one that doesn’t disappoint, with many incoming bright meteors that also shine brightly. through the thinnest clouds. Since this year, after moonrise, the Sun illuminates 63 percent of our celestial companion, the evening time may be better spent under the sky, all other arguments notwithstanding. Moonrise will be around 10pm, so if we go out at, say, 6pm, we will definitely see quite a few meteors. The radiance of the Geminids is in the constellation Gemini (Gemini), it rises around 17:00, in theory the meteors belonging to this shower will appear from then on, but as the radiance rises we can see more and more. At moonrise, the radiant reaches a height of 45 degrees, which is good enough, so those who stay out until now can have a true Geminid experience.
These meteors have an average speed, their average brightness is high enough, that is, there are few faint and brightest members. The parent celestial body of the shower is the asteroid (3200) Phaethon, which exhibits comet-like activity (but not for the same reason) during its approach to the sun, and the dust particles detaching from it create the spectacular meteors. In addition to the increasing number of meteors during the evening hours during the maximum, when we reach the time before moonrise, we can have 30-40 meteors per hour, many of which are bright enough to cheer up even non fanatic meteor spotters. If there was no moonlight for the rest of the night, this number could increase even further, but the moonlight would still take away your vision. It is worth taking care of warm clothes, a hot drink and heating lenses against fog!
