December Night Sky

One of the fun things about winter is the night sky.  Cold, clear, winter skies are characterized by a lack of humidity and if you live in the country there is very little urban light pollution creating some spectacular opportunities for star-gazing. 

December brings a couple of meteor showers to the night skies.  The more prolific of the two is the Geminids with as many as 120 to 160 shooting stars per hour.  Shooting stars are most often associated with the Earth’s passage thru the debris field of a comet.  Gritty debris burns-up as it collides with the upper atmosphere.  The Geminids are a bit of a mystery as they are related with an extinct comet which also happens to be a near-earth asteroid named 3200 Phaethon. 

 

The Geminid meteor shower began December  4^th and will remain active thru the 17^th.  It will be producing its peak rate of meteors this Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

For the duration there will be a chance of seeing Geminid meteors whenever the shower’s radiant point – found in the constellation Gemini – is above the horizon. The number of visible shooting stars increases as the radiant point rises to its highest point in the night sky.  

 

Always a favorite meteor shower peak viewing should be the morning of December 14.  Nevertheless, if you have a dark sky location by all means watch all hours of the evening.  This year, a waxing crescent moon will set early in the evening so you should enjoy dark skies. 

December also brings the Ursid meteor shower with 5  to 10 shooting stars per hour as the Earth passes thru the debris field of Comet 8P/Tuttle.   

Although not as spectacular as the Geminids these meteors begin around December 13 with peak action coincides with the solstice the evening of the 22^nd and 23^rd.   This is a low-key meteor shower that always has to compete with the solstice and the holidays and there will be some moon illumination this year too.. 

Mark your calendar and if your catch a cold, clear, winter sky bundle-up and take some time to sit outside and observe the heavens. 

Fingers-crossed for cold and clear night skies.