With new month of December upon us, people in the Northern Hemisphere will be treated to the longest nights of the year as the Winter Solstice arrives on the 22nd of this month. However, when it comes to changes in days' lengths, December is pretty much a story of steady 15 hour nights, give or take a few minutes at most. So, with all of this night, what's there to see?
Cool Constellations
By nightfall in December the fall constellations are all very well-placed for early (emphasis, early!) evening viewing. First up, we will have one last chance to see the summer constellations, provided you have a good West horizon. Hurry, though, they'll quickly disappear (at least in the West) for good by month's end. Moving onto more mainstream celestial landmarks for this time of year, the Great Square of Pegasus is high overhead and the Big Dipper is scraping the Northern horizon. Starting at the Great Square, look at the double string of stars coming of third base as they constitute Andromeda. High in the Northeast is ‘W’-shaped Cassiopeia, house-like Cepheus, and a twisted ‘V’ of stars, the mythological hero Perseus. Below Perseus is the bright Capella, alpha Auriga, and below his feet, the cloudy patch that is the Pleiades. In the early evening, the South, save bright Fomalhaut, is a dark void populated by the dim constellations of Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, and Cetus. If you stay up a little later as in a couple of hours after dark (which is no longer a chore/something you later regret doing at this time of year), you'll see all the winter favorite like unmistakable Orion in the South, which also serves as a winter signpost to the stars. From Orion, follow a line from his belt down to blazing blue Sirius, alpha Canis Major. Following that line up will bring one to Aldebaran, alpha Taurus the bull. Imagining a line starting at bright blue Rigel (Orion's left foot) through red Betelgeuse (Orion's right shoulder) will bring you to Castor and Pollux, alpha and beta Gemini. Other winter favorites to look for include Canis Minor, Cancer, and even Leo if you wait into the night a little longer. Early birds? Well, getting up just before the Sun will bring a spring preview in the form of Virgo, Bootes, Corona, Hercules, Corvus, and even Vega just ahead of the rising Sun.
Planetary Perceptions
On the planet front, for all of you Mercury fans, you'll be getting a double dose of your favorite planet this month. First, Mercury makes an evening appearance in the first week of the month. Unfortunately, thanks to the low-angled ecliptic, you'll need an extremely good Southwest horizon from which to view. However, come month's end, Mercury will be making a great morning appearance. Moving later into the night, Jupiter will pop out of the twilight just about due South, which means ideal observing conditions at the start of the night as the planet is at its highest. For the next pair of planets, one has to wait until the predawn hours as Virgo brings Saturn, which is then followed by Venus, which will be blazing away at nearly -5 magnitude at the start of the month. In all, 4 of 5 classical planets will be visible this month, which is not bad at all.
Now for viewing. The Cleveland area weather forecast is always looking very iffy for this time of year. So, for an even more up-to date, hour-by-hour weather forecast, check out the Cleveland Clear Sky Clock to see what the night will bring. Live somewhere else? Find a clock near you.
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