Email this article

Venus and Jupiter Take The Stage

By Lewis McCool

The last two months of the year frequently deliver two of the year's best meteor showers, the Leonid and the Geminid, but not this year.

The Leonids peak during the early morning hours of Nov. 17. The waning moon rises about three hours ahead of Leo and is bright enough to wash out all but the brightest meteors.

The Geminids peak during the night of Dec. 13/14. The moon, just past full, will hover in Gemini, less than 10 degrees from the shower's radiant point. The Geminids often deliver a few dazzling "shooting stars," and those will be the only ones visible this time around.

Instead of spending a couple of chilly nights counting meteors, you can catch a fine celestial show right after sunset.

Our closest planetary neighbor, brilliant Venus, and the solar system's gaseous giant, Jupiter, will be dancing near the western horizon throughout November and December.

Early in November, Venus (magnitude minus 4) is in the constellation Ophiuchus, about 23 degrees west of Jupiter (magnitude minus 2) in Sagittarius. Venus climbs toward Jupiter nightly, entering Sagittarius during the second week of November. At the end of the month, the two planets will be only 2 degrees apart. The new moon will join the duo, hovering a few degrees west on the 30th and a few degrees east on Dec. 1.

Venus continues its eastward motion, slipping past Jupiter, with their changes in relative position obvious from night to night.

Saturn (magnitude 1) is the lone planet in the predawn sky. Look for it in the east between 4 and 5 a.m. in Leo, not far from the star Denebola, "tail of the Lion." The moon will be nearby on Nov. 21.

Mercury (magnitude minus 0.7) appears on the evening scene late in December. Far dimmer than Jupiter, it will be difficult to spot, but have a look low in the southwest shortly after sunset on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If Santa brings you a good set of binoculars, they'll be a big help.

Since we're on the subject of Christmas presents, there should be some holiday bargains in telescopes and accessories.

There have significant advances in tools for digital astrophotography designed for the serious amateur. The new-generation imagers are not cheap, but they are good. Prices range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, and they open the door to a fascinating aspect of the hobby.

For those who'd prefer a multipurpose digital camera, Astronomy magazine recently suggested the Canon Rebel XTi, which can be connected to a telescope via an adapter. Other digital single-lens reflex cameras might do as well.

If you can't afford the technology or would rather do without, you can still find wonderful images online and in several traditional publications. The most remarkable book I've seen in quite awhile is National Geographic's Hubble: Imaging Space and Time by David Devorkin and Robert W. Smith.

You won't need a camera or a telescope to enjoy the nearly full moon as it passes across (occults) the northern corner of the Pleiades star cluster just past midnight on the morning of Dec. 11. The event begins around 12:15 a.m. and ends about 2 a.m.

Winter solstice occurs at 5:04 a.m. on Dec. 21. The sun slides low across the daytime sky and the month's full moon (Dec. 12) rides high across the night sky. Coincidentally, the moon will be at perigee (closest to Earth) just a few hours past full. Only 221,560 miles away, it'll be especially big and bright.

It was a little farther away on Dec. 24 40 years ago when Apollo 8 carried the first astronauts into lunar orbit. Many of us old enough to remember recall the dramatic Christmas Eve reading from Genesis by the Apollo crew, Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders.

Happy Holidays.

Info Box: In History

Nov. 9, 1934 Birth date of American astronomer, educator, writer and TV personality Carl Sagan.

Nov. 15, 1738 Birth date of British astronomer William Herschel.

Nov. 20, 1889 Birth date of the namesake of the Hubble space telescope, American astronomer Edwin Hubble.

Nov. 30, 1954 An 11-pound meteorite hits Alabama resident Elizabeth Hodges.

Dec. 14, 1972 As commander of Apollo 17, American astronaut Gene Cernan takes the last steps on the moon.

Dec. 15, 1970 Soviet Union's Venera 7 becomes the first spacecraft to soft land on another planet (Venus).

Dec. 16, 1917 Birth date of author Arthur C. Clarke.

Dec. 25, 1642 Birth date of British mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton.

Info Box: Moon Phases

Full: Nov. 12, 11:17 p.m. (Beaver Moon); Dec. 12, 9:37 a.m. (Cold Moon).

Last quarter: Nov. 19, 2:31 p.m.; Dec. 19, 3:29 a.m.

New: Nov. 27, 9:55 a.m.; Dec. 27, 5:22 a.m.

First quarter: Dec. 5, 2:26 p.m.