December 2018 Sky Calendar
Nov 29, 2018 4:31:05 GMT
Post by Joe on Nov 29, 2018 4:31:05 GMT
Chagrin Valley Astronomical Society Monthly Sky Calendar for December 2018
Is in the constellation Libra. Starts the month visible at dawn at 10 degrees elongation moving to 12 degrees by the end of the year. Its magnitude will be 2.5 increasing to -0.4.
Venus
Will start the month visible at dawn in the constellation Virgo and finishing it in Libra. Elongation will increase from 40 to 46 degrees with commensurate magnitude of -4.87 to -4.62. Its illumination will be at 26%. A bonus feature of this morning will the Moon at 30 degrees west of Venus.Mars
Will start the month in the constellation Aquarius and end it in Pisces. Transiting at altitude 35 degrees to 45 degrees by the end of the month. Magnitude will fade from -0.02 to +0.46 as its distance from Earth increases from 94 (152 M km) to 116 (188 M km) million miles. Illumination in the mid 80’s changing slightly from 86 to 87.Jupiter
Is in Scorpius and 4 degrees west of the Sun in its glare not visible until the mornings of the second week of December. By the end of December an hour before sunrise, if lucky, we’ll be treated to seeing Spica, the (full!) moon, Venus, Jupiter, Antares and Mercury.Saturn
Is in Sagittarius at altitude of 28 degrees where it could be seen for about an hour after sunset, then sets around 6:30. That might be its best viewing until the mornings of mid January.Uranus
Is in Aries with magnitude 5.71 at 58 degrees altitude directly S at 7:30 PM. By the end of the month it’ll be in Pisces a little fainter at 5.76. FYI: at the start of the month it is 1,772,000,000 miles from Earth; by the end of the month it’ll be 1,812,000,000 miles away from Earth!Neptune
Is in Aquarius, magnitude 7.9 at 40 degrees altitude and 5 degrees east of Mars. By the end of December it’ll still be in Aquarius with magnitude 7.92 at 38 degrees altitude and 15 degrees west of Mars. FYI: on December 1 it is 2,769,000,000 miles away, on December 31 it’ll be 2,816,000,000 miles away!What else is up there?
Pluto
Is in Sagittarius at magnitude 14.3 and ranging from 3,194,240,000 on December 1, to 3,216,560,000 miles on December 31.The Geminids meteor shower will be best the night of December 13/14 midnight to 5 AM. Those in the know believe it’ll be one of the best.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen, on December 16 will be 7.2 million miles from Earth close enough to be a naked eye 4th magnitude object. Maybe! Keep an eye on it in Taurus.
Compiled by Gus Saikaly
CVASNotes: Sources for this report are: Astronomy Magazine, Stellarium, Starry Night Pro Plus 7, NASA, you tube, and Steve Kainec.