December 2021 Sky Guide

What a month it’s been for sky watchers! Hundreds of people traveled to Antarctica to witness the total solar eclipse on December 4. Throw in the possibility of a naked-eye comet, a parade of planets and a mythical "cold moon" rising, and December should be the month for observers around the world.

Time: 2021, Saturday, December 4, 07:33 Universal Time (02:33 a.m. EDT)

Location: Antarctica

The moon will Reaching the new moon phase and becoming the closest new moon of 2021. A "super new moon" if you will. When it reaches that "new" moment, it will pass across the Sun's surface, causing a total solar eclipse, although it will only be visible from Antarctica. Eclipse Chasers will be on board aircraft and expedition cruises over the Scotia Sea. They would feel the moon's shadow rushing towards them, the temperature dropping, and the light falling towards dusk. On a clear sky, they'll see the last rays of sunlight forming a beautiful "diamond ring" around the moon, before the sun's delicate ice-white corona sprays out into space.

The total will last less than two minutes, depending on the exact location. If there's a hole in the clouds, expect spectacular photography.

When: After sunset on December 6, 7, 8 and 9, 2021

Where: Low on the western horizon

Three in a row At night, a slender new moon will pass by Venus (December 6), Saturn (December 7), and sit between Saturn (December 8) and Jupiter (December 9).

Admission time: 2021, December 13/14, Monday/Tuesday

Location: All Sky

The Geminid Meteor Shower usually occurs throughout the year One of the highlights of astronomy. In addition to being the most reliable display of meteors, it is also the most colorful. This year its peak night will be swamped by a waxy long-armed moon. However, despite less than ideal conditions, at least some of the 150 colorful "shooting stars" per hour should pass between dusk and dawn on December 13-14, 2021.

Gemini is the result of a large celestial body called 3200 Phaethon. Only discovered in 1983 and named after the son of Helios (the Greek sun god), 3200 Phaethon is a near-Earth asteroid that orbits the sun every 1.4 years.

Admission Date: Sunday, December 19, 2021

Location: Rising in the East

Although the Full Moon is a global event, occurring all over the world of the same time, but the time zone means that the moment of 100% illumination occurs on Saturday, December 18, 2021 in North America. However, seeing the full moon when it's at its peak with 100% illumination is missing the point - you want to witness the full moon rising after sunset, which is when it looks most magical. For North America, this is dusk on Sunday, December 19, 2021. Look northeast.

Intake: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: European Spaceport, French Guiana

The future of astronomy is in South America – for now In terms of. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has completed a 16-day ocean voyage covering 5,800 miles/9,300 kilometers) and is now in French Guiana, a French territory on the northeastern coast of South America.

Once in space, it will spend at least a decade observing the universe in infrared light. This will allow it to look back at the light produced after the Big Bang 13 billion years ago. Cue the first stars and galaxies - as well as relative close-ups of exoplanets and their atmospheres.

But first the nail-biting release. If all goes well, then Webb will begin a 29-day deployment of its solar array and sunflower-shaped awning as it moves into position at the gravitationally stable Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 2. That's about 930,000 miles/1.5 million kilometers from Earth...too far to ever be repaired. possible. Hence, the nail fired. This can't go wrong.

Admission time: 2021, Sunday, December 12, before dawn

Location: Near Arcturus in the eastern night sky

Never predict a star The comet will become bright enough to be seen with the naked eye! That's the first rule when it comes to stargazing, but after 2020's Comet NEOWISE, there's a good chance Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) will be that one in mid-December.

Discovered by Greg Leonard at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona in early 2021, it will orbit the sun on January 3, 2022 line and will be closest to the Earth on December 12, 2021. It won't be close - a massive 22 million miles / 35 million kilometers - but it will be visible to the naked eye by Christmas. It will be close to the bright star Arcturus, which is convenient.