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Predawn Sky Hosts the Moon, Jupiter and Spica Trio
(Mars will be up most of the night)
" Let the beauty we love be what we do. - Rumi "
Moon Phases
• Last Quarter: Dec. 23, 12:36 p.m., Jan. 22, 8:14 a.m.
• New: Dec. 30, 8:11 p.m.
• First Quarter: Dec. 8, 2:36 a.m.; Jan. 6, 11:56 a.m.
• Full: Dec. 15, 9:15 a.m. (Cold Moon); Jan. 14, 2:48 a.m. (Wolf Moon)
NOTABLE SPACE HIGHLIGHTS
Winter is here. The winter solstice occurs at 11:35 a.m. on Dec. 21. Long nights (good for viewing); cold nights (not so good).
In apparent contradiction to winter's chill, Earth makes its closest approach to the sun (at perihelion) on Jan. 1.
Rather than outside peering through my telescope, I find myself reading astronomy magazines and books, perusing catalogs and developing a Christmas wish list.
Speaking of Christmas, one caveat for gift buyers with budding astronomers on their list: Don't buy them a department-store telescope. The optics are so cheap and the promises of high magnification so misleading that the result will almost certainly be disappointment and, often, an end to interest in the hobby. If you can't afford $200-$300 for a good beginner scope, buy them a decent pair of 7x50 (or thereabouts) binoculars.
Outside in the night sky:
Venus is at its maximum brightness (magnitude minus 4.6) during early December. Look for the 4-day-old crescent moon nearby, low in the southwest at dusk on Dec. 4. By the first of the new year, Venus will be rapidly dipping toward the sun, soon to be lost in its glare.
Mars, however, will be up most of the night. Although Earth is pulling ahead as the two circle the sun, the Red Planet, in the constellation Aries, still shines brightly (minus 1.5 early in December, minus 0.3 a month later). The moon makes a close approach on the night of Dec. 11.
Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation on Dec. 12. Look for it near the southeastern horizon in the predawn sky in early to mid-December.
Jupiter, in Libra, rises earlier each morning and, at magnitude minus 1.7, is easy to spot before sunrise.
Luna delivers a gift on Christmas morning as it occults the bright (1st magnitude) star Spica just before sun-up. Locally, the moon covers the star at about 6:40 a.m. Spica should reappear from behind the moon at 7:18. A day later, the moon, Jupiter and Spica will make a fine trio in the predawn sky. Look low in the southeast between 5 and 6:30 a.m.
In mid-December, Saturn, (magnitude 0) in Cancer, rises about 8:30 p.m. It continues to rise earlier and gain in brightness. The Beehive star cluster is nearby.
The asteroid Vesta makes it closest approach to Earth for the year on Jan. 7. It will be a little more than 144 million miles away. Amazingly enough, the relatively tiny object (582 miles in diameter) might be viewable with the naked eye (shining at magnitude 6.2) for those with great sight at a dark site. It will be easy to follow its path nightly in Gemini with a small telescope. Vesta was discovered in 1807, six years after the first discovery of an asteroid (Ceres).
The reliable Geminid meteor shower, which peaks on Dec. 13, will be washed out by the nearly full moon. The unreliable Ursid shower peaks on the 22nd. The last quarter moon will be a problem after midnight on the morning of the 23rd.
The best meteor spotting opportunity will likely be on the morning of Jan. 3 when the Quadrantids peak. The moon will set shortly after dusk, leaving a dark sky throughout the evening and morning hours. The radiant is in the constellation Boötes.
In 1834, Kiowa Indians marked Jan. 5 as "the night the stars fell." Presumably, it was a Quadrantid storm.
The Chimney Rock Interpretative Association's next "lunar standstill" program is scheduled for Dec. 15. Check the association's Web site, www.chimneyrockco.org, for details.
Lewis McCool writes from his home near Dolores, Colo., where he can take advantage of clear nights and dark skies.
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