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Skyguide
December 2005 to February 2006
Bing F. Quock
December 1: New Moon at 6:59
am pst. The crescent won’t be visible until after sunset tomorrow,
marking the start of the month of Zul-Qa’dah in the Islamic calendar.
December 14: Peak of the Geminid meteor
shower, usually the best of the year. However, coming only a day before
Full Moon, this year’s display will be spoiled by moonlight.
December 15: Full Moon, also known
as the “Baby Bear Moon” to the Osage and the “Groundhog
Mother’s Moon” to the Tlingit. This Full Moon crosses very
high in the sky.
December 21: Winter solstice for the
northern hemisphere at 10:36 am pst. The Sun rises and sets at its most
southerly points on the horizon, and its path across the sky is low, making
for cool, short days. In the southern hemisphere, this is the Summer solstice.
December 22: Peak of the modest Ursid
meteor shower, normally featuring five to ten meteors per hour, radiating
from between the Big and Little Dippers.
December 30: New Moon at 7:11 pm pst–the
second New Moon this month. The sighting of tomorrow’s crescent
Moon at sunset marks the start of the month of Zul-Hijjah in the lunar-based
Islamic calendar.
January 3: Peak of the Quadrantid meteor
shower, one of the better displays of the year at about 40 meteors per
hour. Coinciding with a thin waxing crescent Moon that sets early, it
should put on a fine show in the predawn sky.
January 14: The Full Moon rises soon
after sunset against the stars of Cancer. It was called the “Goose
Moon” by the Tlingit and the “Great Spirit Moon” by
the Ojibway.
January 29: New Moon at 6:15 am pst–too
late for the first crescent to be visible at sunset that evening. Try
observing on the 30th, when the first sighting of the crescent marks the
start of the month of Muharram and the Muslim new year.
February 12: Full Moon at 8:44 pm pst.
This moon is also called the “Budding Time” by the Nez Perce
and the “Elder Moon” by the Haida.
February 27: New Moon at 4:31 pm pst.
Look tomorrow for the first crescent, low in the west after sunset. This
marks the start of the month of Safar in the Muslim calendar.
The Planets
Mercury
The most elusive naked-eye planet is a morning object as December begins,
and quickly descends into the glow of the rising sun. By New Year’s
it will probably be too difficult to see. It hides behind the Sun on January
26 (superior conjunction) and emerges into the evening sky by mid-February,
passing close to Uranus on February 14. The crescent Moon passes nearby
on the morning of December 29, the evening of January 29 (too close to
the Sun’s glow to be seen), and the evening of February 28 (hint:
use the Moon to find Mercury).
Venus
Venus is a brilliant evening object in the southwest as December begins,
but rapidly disappears into the twilight about a week into the New Year.
At inferior conjunction January 14 and hidden in the Sun’s glow,
it emerges into the morning sky in late January, becoming increasingly
prominent in the southeast. The Moon passes nearby on the evening of December
4, January 1, and the morning of February 24.
Mars
In December, Mars is high in the east at sunset, in Aries. In January,
it gradually moves into Taurus, passing the Pleiades on February 14. The
Moon appears nearby on December 11, January 8, and February 5, bracketed
by Mars and the Pleiades.
Jupiter
In December, Jupiter is less than 40 degrees high in the south, against
the stars of Libra at sunrise, and creeps westward through January and
February. The Moon is nearby December 26, January 23, and February 19-20.
Saturn
Saturn rises a few hours after sunset against the stars of Cancer (with
binoculars, look nearby for M-44, the “Beehive” star cluster).
In opposition on January 27, it rises at sunset and remains visible all
night, setting in the east at sunrise. By mid-February, it is well above
the eastern horizon by sunset and sets before dawn. It pairs prettily
with the Moon on the evenings of December 18, January 14-15, and February
10-11.
| |
Sunrise |
Local Noon |
Sunset |
| December 1 |
7:07 AM PST |
11:59 PM PST |
4:51 PM PST |
| January1 |
7:25 AM PST |
12:14 PM PST |
5:02 PM PST |
| February 1 |
7:14 AM PST |
12:24 PM PST |
5:34 PM PST |
Times are for San Francisco, CA, and will vary slightly
for other locations.
A Sprinkling of stardust
On January 15, if all goes well, NASA’s
Stardust spacecraft will deliver to Earth the first samples of material
from a comet. Launched in February 1999, the spacecraft made several
loops through the inner solar system, encountering asteroid Annefrank
in November 2002 on its way to Comet Wild-2 (pronounced the German
way, “vilt”). In January 2004, it passed within 150
miles of the comet’s nucleus. More importantly, it used a
device resembling an oversized tennis racket to sweep up dust liberated
from the nucleus. These particles––perhaps no more than
a thimbleful––will return to Earth in a capsule parachuting
into the Utah desert. Analyses at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
may reveal the conditions that existed during the formation of our
solar system and the chemical building blocks from which the planets
formed. |
Bing F. Quock is Acting Chair of the
Morrison Planetarium. bquock@calacademy.org |
