DECEMBER 2024 (Northern Hemisphere)

1 New Moon at 6:21 UT. Start of lunation 1261.

3 Mars 2.1° NNW of Beehive Cluster at 23h UT (morning sky). Mag. –0.6.

5 Moon near Venus at 1h UT (evening sky). Mag. –4.2.

6 Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 2h UT. The innermost planet passes into the morning sky.

7 Jupiter at opposition at 21h UT. This is the best time to view the largest planet in the Solar System. Mag. –2.8.

8 Moon near Saturn at 9h UT (evening sky). Mag. 1.0. Occultation visible from E. Indonesia, Japan, eastern Philippines and north-western Papua New Guinea.

8 First Quarter Moon at 15:27 UT.

12 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 13:24 UT (distance 365,361km; angular size 32.7′).

13 Moon near the Pleiades at 19h UT (evening sky).

14 Geminid Meteor Shower peaks in a broad maximum centred at 1h UT. Active December 4–17. Produces bright, medium-speed meteors at its peak (up to 80 meteors/hour). The best and most reliable of the major annual showers. Just before Full Moon so poor viewing conditions this year.

14 Moon near Jupiter at 19h UT (evening sky). Mag. –2.8.

15 Full Moon at 9:01 UT.

18 Moon near Mars at 10h UT (morning sky). Mag. –0.9.

20 Moon near Regulus at 9h UT (morning sky).

21 December solstice at 9:19 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point farthest south of the celestial equator marking the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

22 Last Quarter Moon at 22:19 UT.

24 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 7h UT (distance 404,485km; angular size 29.5′).

24 Moon near Spica at 21h UT (morning sky). Occultation visible from eastern China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea.

25 Mercury at greatest elongation west at 2h UT (22° from Sun, morning sky). Mag. –0.3.

30 New Moon at 22:27 UT. Start of lunation 1262.

More sky events and links at http://Skymaps.com/skycalendar/

All times in Universal Time (UT). (USA Eastern Standard Time = UT – 5 hours.)

Visit my YouTube Page for captures of many of the Night Sky events for each month.

MOON PHASES

New Moon: 1st & 30th
First Quarter: 8th
Full Moon: 15th
Last Quarter: 22nd

EASILY SEEN BY THE NAKED EYE

Altair Aql Brightest star in Aquila. Name means “the flying eagle”. Dist=16.7 ly.
Capella Aur The 6th brightest star. Appears yellowish in color. Spectroscopic binary. Dist=42 ly.
δ Cephei Cep Cepheid prototype. Mag varies between 3.5 & 4.4 over 5.366 days. Mag 6 companion.
Deneb Cyg Brightest star in Cygnus. One of the greatest known supergiants. Dist=1,400±200 ly.
Castor Gem Multiple star system with 6 components. 3 stars visible in telescope. Dist=52 ly.
Pollux Gem With Castor, the twin sons of Leda in classical mythology. Dist=34 ly.
Vega Lyr The 5th brightest star in the sky. A blue-white star. Dist=25.0 ly.
Rigel Ori The brightest star in Orion. Blue supergiant star with mag 7 companion. Dist=770 ly.
Betelgeuse Ori One of the largest red supergiant stars known. Diameter=300 times that of Sun. Dist=430 ly.
Algol Per Famous eclipsing binary star. Magnitude varies between 2.1 & 3.4 over 2.867 days.
Fomalhaut PsA Brightest star in Piscis Austrinus. In Arabic the “fish’s mouth”. Dist=25 ly.
Pleiades Tau The Seven Sisters. Spectacular cluster. Many more stars visible in binoculars. Dist=399 ly.
Hyades Tau Large V-shaped star cluster. Binoculars reveal many more stars. Dist=152 ly.
Aldebaran Tau Brightest star in Taurus. It is not associated with the Hyades star cluster. Dist=65 ly.
Polaris UMi The North Pole Star. A telescope reveals an unrelated mag 8 companion star. Dist=433 ly.

SEEN BY TELESCOPE

γ Andromedae And Attractive double star. Bright orange star with mag 5 blue companion. Sep=9.8″.

7009 Aqr Saturn Nebula. Requires 8-inch telescope to see Saturn-like appendages.

7293 Aqr Helix Nebula. Spans nearly 1/4 deg. Requires dark sky. Dist=300 ly.

γ Arietis Ari Impressive looking double blue-white star. Visible in a small telescope. Sep=7.8″.

η Cassiopeiae Cas Yellow star mag 3.4 & orange star mag 7.5. Dist=19 ly. Orbit=480 years. Sep=12″.

Albireo Cyg Beautiful double star. Contrasting colours of orange and blue-green. Sep=34.4″.

61 Cygni Cyg Attractive double star. Mags 5.2 & 6.1 orange dwarfs. Dist=11.4 ly. Sep=28.4″.

γ Delphini Del Appear yellow & white. Mags 4.3 & 5.2. Dist=100 ly. Struve 2725 double in same field.

θ Eridani Eri Striking blue-white double star. Mags 3.2 & 4.3. Visible in a small telescope. Sep=8.2″.

β Lyrae Lyr Eclipsing binary. Mag varies between 3.3 & 4.3 over 12.940 days. Fainter mag 7.2 blue star.

M57 Lyr Ring Nebula. Magnificent object. Smoke-ring shape. Dist=4,100 ly.

σ Orionis Ori Superb multiple star. 2 mag 7 stars one side, mag 9 star on other. Struve 761 triple in field.

M1 Tau Crab Nebula. Remnant from supernova which was visible in 1054. Dist=6,500 ly.

M33 Tri Fine face-on spiral galaxy. Requires a large aperture telescope. Dist=2.3 million ly.

M81 UMa Beautiful spiral galaxy visible with binoculars. Easy to see in a telescope.

M82 UMa Close to M81 but much fainter and smaller.

M27 Vul Dumbbell Nebula. Large, twin-lobed shape. Most spectacular planetary. Dist=975 ly.