Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1312519
By Mike Vergara, 951-461-2889 I have been looking forward to December all year. At the end of this month is a very rare celestial event, and everyone I know with a telescope will be out to observe it! The December full moon, known as the "Full Cold Moon", is on the 29th. I usually get the full moon names from The Old Farmer's almanac, but a little searching the Internet will provide many different names from lots of different societies and cultures. It's fun reading! The "Geminid" meteor shower will peak on the night of the 13th/14th. This shower is usually one of the most active and reliable meteor showers of the year. Meteors from the Geminids are visible all night long because the constellation Gemini, which appears to be the source of the meteors, rises around 7 pm. Geminid meteors are easier to see because they are moving (relatively) slower than other meteor showers. The giant planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear to be so close to each other on the evening of the 21st that they will appear as a single bright object to the unaided eye. Look to the southwest about 15-30 minutes after sunset; you won't be able to miss them! When two objects are close together like this, they are said to be in "conjunction". These planets are not physically close together, it only appears that way from our vantage point here on Earth. They are around 455 million miles from each other. These two planets appear to be close together every 20 years or so. They're usually around 1 degree apart (roughly the width of two full moons). This year's conjunction is their closest approach since 1623, and they will be separated by only about 1 tenth of a degree! It will be difficult to see the individual planets with the unaided eye. If you have a telescope or binoculars, you will be able to see both planets in the same field of view. That should be an amazing view! The sun sets at 4:45 pm on the 21st. By 5:15 pm, the sky will be dark enough that these two planets will stand out. But don't delay! With the Santa Rosa mountains to our southwest, it won't be long until they are too low to see. Visit http://skymaps.com/index.html to print your own map of the sky for the month. Clear skies! december Sky december Sky COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD 26 | THE COLONY NEWS | DECEMBER 2020 |