What’s happening in December? Early evening highlights, chance to catch a comet and annual Geminid meteors.
December 6 to 10, look west after sunset to visit the moon
The moon passes through Venus, Saturn and Jupiter every night after sunset from December 6th to 10th. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
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Enjoy the breathtaking view of Venus as the “star of the night” while it lasts. Our cloud-covered neighboring planet will soon disappear from the horizon during the month, disappearing for most of us in the New Year. It will reappear in late January as a morning planet before sunrise and will not return to the night sky until December of next year.
Then, in December, there’s a newly discovered comet on its way to the inner solar system that might be worth a try. Known as comet Leonard, it will be at its closest point to Earth on December 12, just two weeks before it reaches its closest distance from the sun.
The sky map shows the position of comet Leonard in the east about two hours before sunrise, December 1-10. Binoculars may be needed to observe the comet. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
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Now, comets are known to be difficult to predict in terms of brightness and visibility. Leonard’s comet is expected to reach its peak at a brightness that will likely require telescopes to observe it. There’s a chance it’s bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, but then again, with comets, you never know.
In the first two weeks of December, comet Leonard can be found in the east before sunrise, passing between Arcturus and Ursa Major Cape. It’s closer to the horizon than Earth, which means it’s likely to be much brighter, but harder to observe. It then transforms into a nocturnal object around December 14th, just after sunset – when it starts its long distance out of the sun again, and its brightness gradually dims.
finally, the Gemini, meteor It’s the highlight of the December sky every year. This year’s meteor showers peak during the night of December 13-14. Regardless of the weather, the phase of the moon is often the main factor for a meteor shower to be well observed in any given year. This year, the moon will be about 80% full at the height of the geminids, which is not ideal. However, this bright moon will appear somewhere around 2 am, wherever you are, leaving a few hours for meteor viewing before dawn.
The sky map shows the region of the sky from which the Geminid meteors seem to radiate. This year’s rain is best observed after sunset on the morning of December 14th. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
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Meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Gemini, which you’ll find high in the west. Now, while most annual meteor showers are caused by Earth’s passing through trails of dust-sized particles of comet debris, Geminids are one of the few meteor showers caused by an asteroid debris crossing Earth’s orbit – in this one case, the one called Phaethon.
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And if you take a look at comet Leonard or the meteorites of the asteroid Phaethon, both are reminders of the deep connections between Earth and the rest of the solar system that we’re discovering as we look outward and explore.
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