| Dec 04, 2014


There are two meteor showers this month. On the night of December 13-14 the Geminids make their spectacular appearance. They have a ZHR of 120. The ZHR or Zenith Hourly Rate estimates how many meteors you can expect to see in the sky under perfect conditions. For the Geminids, 120 meteors on average should flash across the sky every hour. The conditions for us will be perfect in the early evening. The peak of the shower occurs well before the last quarter Moon rises at midnight. The radiant for the Geminids is near the bright star Castor in the constellation Gemini. If you trace meteor trails back across the sky, all the Geminid meteors radiate from the area of Castor. If the trail doesn’t, it is called a sporadic meteor – random space debris. You don’t have to look in the direction of the constellation Gemini to see meteors; they will appear all over the sky. Remember too that lots of meteors will arrive on the night before, the 12th-13th, and the night after the peak, the 14th-15th. This is a great shower, so don’t miss it!

The other shower is the Ursids. It happens on the 22nd but only has a ZHR of 10 – worth a look since there is no Moon to speak of that night and the faintest of meteors should be visible.

The Full Moon this month is on the 6th and is called the Full Cold Moon. Any guesses why?

The waning, gibbous Moon, Jupiter and the star Regulus in Leo form a loose group in the southwest on the 11th, 12th and 13th about an hour before sunrise – a nice sight! A gibbous Moon is one where the bright crescent part of the Moon curves into the dark portion. It describes a condition that can occur when the Moon is waxing (brightness increasing) or waning (brightness decreasing).

About an hour before sunrise on the 19th, the crescent Moon is close above Saturn in the southeast.

Winter Solstice occurs at 6:03 p.m. EST on the 21st. This night is the longest night of the year and it’s all downhill to spring from the Solstice on. Of course we have to face January, February and so on and so on…blah!

Shortly after sunset on the 22nd, in the west southwest, a thin, waxing crescent Moon shines low to the horizon and to the right of Venus. On the 24th, Christmas Eve, take a look at Mars to the left of the Moon in the southwest about 45 minutes after sunset. Binoculars will be a big help for this observing challenge. On the 31st get your binoculars out again and look for Mercury about 3 degrees to the lower right of Venus in the evening twilight. You can’t miss Venus. It’s very bright at the horizon in the southwest!

Well, that’s a wrap for this year! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year to all!  


You may contact Fred Garrett through this paper or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..

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