Dec 2022
We have almost 12 hours of astronomical darkness this month, so if you have the energy and clear skies there is the opportunity of a marathon observing session!
We will start with a story. Hopefully it will help you remember the shape and position of night sky around this time of the year. In Greek myth, Orion was a great hunter and he boasted he could kill anything. A goddess of the Earth sent a scorpion to kill him. In the sky as the scorpion rises in the east, Orion sets in the west (defeated). When the scorpion makes its way to the west, the healer Ophiuchus, crushes it and heals Orion for it to rise again in the east. There are many versions of this tale but all of them echo a story of death and rebirth.
With this tale in mind (if we get a clear night this month!), look south-east and Orion is indeed on its way across the sky. An unmistakable hour-glass shape with one arm outstretched holding a club and the other a shield. Most people with light pollution don’t get to see this as his arms is are too faint to recognise. However,we can in Embsay, providing we continue to value our dark sky.
As the year progresses, in May, Orion will sink below view and Scorpius will rise in the south-east or if you are prepared to stay up all night for the night sky to rotate.
Looking South December 23rd at 10pm.
Interesting objects within Orion are the Horsehead Nebula, Barnard’s Loop, Flame Nebula and the Orion Nebula(M42). In fact, it is a treasure trove of fascinating objects. Find out more here https://nineplanets.org/orion-constellation/
On 8th December Mars is in opposition, and it will also pass behind the Moon. This is called lunar occultation. You will be able to see this with your naked eye but with a pair of binoculars it should be amazing. Here is more information.
Looking North December 23rd at 10 pm
Looking at the horizon you will see the constellation of Lyra, but earlier in the evening this will be higher and in the west. This little triangular- shaped constellation not only holds one of the brightest stars in our sky, it is also a close neighbour to our own Sun. Close to the opposite side of this triangle is a strange looking object. If you are lucky enough to own a telescope and are scanning this area you will see something, well, odd. It is not the familiar bright point of light but a multi-coloured ring.
Photo: Milan Davidovic M57 2020 Embsay
Here is a short video that explains how such an unusual object is created and what we are witnessing.
This month there are two meteor showers in December:
The Geminid shower has its maximum between 14th – 15th December. The ‘radiant’ of the shower is close the the star Castor (near Pollux on the star chart). This shower can be the brightest and most numerous. https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/geminids.html
The Ursid Meteor Shower maximum. These enter our atmosphere from the north (close to Ursa Minor). The peak is 13th – 24th. It has a lower peak rate but as we have a New Moon on 23rd December we may see more of them! https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/ursids.html
Full Moon 8th December
New Moon 23rd December
Clear Skies
Milan Davidovic
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