Podcaster: Rob Webb
Title: Last Minute Astronomer December 2023
Organization: Physics teacher at Pequea Valley High School
Link: http://mrwebb.podbean.com ;
https://sites.google.com/site/mrwebbonline/ ;
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrWebbPV
https://sites.google.com/site/pvplanetarium/home
follow me : @MrWebbPV on Twitter ; @lastminuteastronomer on Facebook and Instagram
Don’t forget this podcast is found on my Podbean page, Stitcher, and iTunes. There’s also a video version on my YouTube Channel and I can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @mrwebbpv. The Pequea Valley Planetarium and its events and updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.
Description:
Some slight changes to Saturn and Jupiter in the sky, the start of a big change for Venus, and even more rocks fall from the sky this December here on the Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare. Let’s start by talking about the naked eye planets visible this month, the lunar phases, and then the meteor shower and other events, so you can plan ahead better than me.
Today’s sponsor: Big thanks to our Patreon supporters this month: Rob Leeson, David Bowes, Brett Duane, Benett Bolek, Mary Ann, Frank Frankovic, Michael Freedman, Kim Hay, Steven Emert, Frank Tippin, Rani Bush, Jako Danar, Joseph J. Biernat, Nik Whitehead, Michael W, Cherry Wood, Steve Nerlich, Steven Kluth, James K Wood, Katrina Ince, Phyllis Foster, Don Swartwout, Barbara Geier, Steven Jansen, Donald Immerwahr
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Transcript:
Some slight changes to Saturn and Jupiter in the sky, the start of a big change for Venus, and even more rocks fall from the sky this December here on the Last Minute Astronomer, bringing astronomy to normies and nerds, with little time to spare. Let’s start by talking about the naked eye planets visible this month, the lunar phases, and then the meteor shower and other events, so you can plan ahead better than me.
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset
Saturn – About 30˚ to 35˚ above the horizon in the South. Fairly dim, but still brighter than all the stars around it.
Jupiter – SUPER bright in the SouthEast, about halfway up the sky. Just find the brightest point of light in that direction, and you’ve got it.
Throughout the night
Saturn & Jupiter – With Saturn starting about 30˚ above the horizon in the South and Jupiter in the East, these two march westward through the night. Saturn sets in the West around 11pm at the beginning of the month and 9:30 at the end. Jupiter sets in the West around 4:30am at the beginning of the month, 2am at the end.
Morning
Venus – Venus is on its way out! Getting lower and lower every morning, as it orbits behind the Sun, with Earth trailing it. Probably too low to see starting February, and not really visible in the evening until maybe July. But this month, between 3:30am and 4:30am, Venus will be above the horizon, rising to about 30˚ above the horizon by sunrise, in the beginning of the month, 20˚ at the end. Brilliant, brighter than everything around it.
LUNAR PHASES
Last Quarter Moon – 5th (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 12th (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 19th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 26th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
EVENTS
9th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Venus – The Waning Crescent Moon is 4˚ away from Venus. Visible in the East by 4am until the sun rises.
13th – 14th – Geminid Meteor Shower – A VERY good year for this shower, as there is only a thin crescent Moon which sets early. So get out there and take advantage of the possible 100 meteors per hour!
When? Really, any time of the night is good, though the closer you are to dawn on the 14th, the better.
Where do I look? The whole sky, but note Gemini is where the radiant is – where the meteors will appear to be coming from. Gemini will be in the East after sunset, South after midnight, West in the morning.
But be well prepared…
- Commit yourself to staying out at least 20 minutes.
- Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock
- Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear
- Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something.
- You never know when a nice meteor will burn up, to take a nice look at the sky in general, noting that the meteors will appear to go from the radiant and outward.
17th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Saturn – The Moon is just 3˚ below Saturn. Visible toward the South after sunset, setting in the SW around 10pm.
21st – Winter Solstice – The longest night and shortest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. More info here: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html
21st – 22nd – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Jupiter – The Moon is to the right of Jupiter on the 21st, and moves to the other side on the 22nd. Visible in the SE after sunset, setting in the West by 3am.
25th – Christmas – Getting outside with your new telescope? You’ve got plenty of options! Saturn in the SW but dim, Jupiter bright and halfway up the sky in the SE, and a full Moon.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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