Mercury: After reaching greatest elongation on December 1, Mercury will be visible in the western sky after sunset. Planet Mercury will be around 15degrees above western horizon just after sunset. If seen through a telescope, Mercury's crescent phase can be seen. Towards the middle of the month Mercury will be close to Sun and will be very difficult to observe. On 20th of December, Mercury will be in inferiour conjunction with Sun. Mercury will be visible in the morning sky towards the end of the month.
| Date | Set/Rise |
| 07/12/10 | 07:15:00 PM |
| 14/12/10 | 06:46:00 PM |
| 27/12/10 | 05:34AM (Rise) |
Venus: Venus is well placed for observations in the morning sky. Venus will be dominating morning sky with brightness of -4.5magnitude. Venus will be in the constellation of Virgo till middle of December and move to Libra and stay there till the end of the month.
| Date | Rise |
| 07/12/10 | 03:32:39 AM |
| 14/12/10 | 03:24:35 AM |
| 27/12/10 | 03:18:39 AM |
Mars: Mars will be visible in the western just after sunset. As the planet is close to the Sun, it will be difficult to make any detailed observation of the planet.
| Date | Set |
| 07/12/10 | 06:52:05 PM |
| 14/12/10 | 06:47:51 PM |
| 27/12/10 | 06:40:49 PM |
Jupiter and Uranus: These two planets are well placed for observations as they will be close to Zenith at the time of sunset. Both planets will remain in this favorable position for observations all month.
| Date | Set |
| 07/12/10 | 12:57:07 AM |
| 14/12/10 | 12:31:36 AM |
| 27/12/10 | 11:42:21 PM |
Saturn: Saturn in now a morning planet. It will be well placed for observation in the later part of the month as it will rise to a comfortable altitude before twilight.
| Date | Rise |
| 07/12/10 | 02:17:47 AM |
| 14/12/10 | 01:52:27 AM |
| 27/12/10 | 01:04:39 AM |
Neptune: Neptune in the constellation of Capricornus is also well placed for observations.
| Date | Set |
| 07/12/10 | 10:58:28 PM |
| 14/12/10 | 10:31:30 PM |
| 27/12/10 | 09:41:40 PM |
Phases of Moon:
New moon: 05-Dec-2010
First quarter: 13-Dec-2010
Full moon: 21-Dec-2010
Last quarter: 28-Dec-2010
Sun: The Sun will reach its maximum southern declination of 23.5 degrees on 21st December at 23:46UT that will be 5:16am IST on 22nd. This is called winter solstice.
Geminids Meteor Shower:
Geminids Meteor shower will be good this year as Moon will set early around midnight, giving lots of dark skies to observe and photograph the showers. The radiant (the point where the meteor shower originate) lies close to start Castor, alpha Geminorum. The constellation Gemini will rise around 7:30pm and will reach zenith around 1:30am. Maximum will happen on 14th of December, but observation a day before and after is advised for better results.
as usual, i had no luck either on the 13th or 14 nite. orange skies with the clouds dominating.
ReplyDelete13th midnite saw orion and jupiter, but no meteor showers.
14th no luck at all. couldnt even see castor and pollux! sadly, out of luck, leela