Saturday: The
Geminid meteor shower peaks for the next two nights. Meteor showers are named
after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These
meteors appear to come from a point in Gemini the twins. This point is about
three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the east-northeast horizon
at 9 p.m. tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night, as it will
remain near the bright star Castor, the right hand star of the “twin” stars
Pollux and Castor. This shower is typically one of the best ones of the year
producing bright, medium speed meteors with up to 80 meteors per hour near the
peak. This year, the nearly full moon will obscure some of the dimmer meteors. For
more information about the Geminid shower, go to http://earthsky.org/space/everything-you-need-to-know-geminid-meteor-shower.
Sunday: You’ve
heard the term “a pinch to grow an inch.” Well, Jupiter’s extremely strong
gravitational field “pinches” Jupiter so much that it causes Jupiter to shrink
by about an inch a year. Look for the svelte Jupiter two fists above due east
at 11:07 p.m.
Monday: Mars
is about one fist above the southwest horizon at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Of
course you can see the stars at night. If you know where to look, you can also
see a few of the brighter stars during the day. This morning, you can use the
moon to help you see Spica in a pair of binoculars. First, find the moon two
fists above the southwest horizon at 11 a.m. Move your binoculars so the moon
is on the far right edge of your field of view. Spica should be near the middle
of the field of view for most binoculars.
Wednesday:
Today is Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival in honor of their god Saturn,
the god of agriculture and time. The holiday featured a break from work and
school, a public banquet, and private gift giving. Some of these customs
influenced the secular aspects of Christmas celebrations. Celebrate Saturnalia
at 7 a.m. by viewing the planet Saturn, one fist above due southeast. Seeing
the real Saturn on the morning of December 17? As Leonard said on The Big
Bang Theory, “It’s a Saturnalia miracle.”
Thursday:
On these cold mornings, it is difficult to get going. You just want to plop
into a chair and sit still. But, are you really sitting still? You’re moving at
about 700 miles per hour due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis and
66,000 miles per hour due to the revolution of the Earth around the Sun. If
that’s not enough, the entire solar system is orbiting the center of the galaxy
at a whopping 480,000 miles per hour! So while you may be sitting still with
respect to your living room (and all of the over achievers in your house), you
are NOT sitting still with respect to the center of the galaxy. For more
information about this concept, go to http://goo.gl/lPVPS. Before
you barf from all of that motion, go outside at 7 a.m. and observe Saturn, about
two fists below the moon in the southeast sky. Because of Saturn’s rapid
rotation, only 10.5 hours, it appears visible flattened.
Friday: Not
only can you can see some of the “nighttime” stars during the day, you can also
see bright planets. Once again, the moon will be your guide. First, find the
moon two fists above the southwest horizon at noon. Move your binoculars so the
moon is on the right side of your field of view. Saturn will be a little more
than a moon diameter to the lower left of the moon. Now that you have found it
in binoculars, try to spot it with your naked eye about a pinky-width to the
lower left of the moon.
The
positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically
accurate for the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky,
go to http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
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