| THE COLONY NEWS | DECEMBER 2023 | 19 | THE COLONY NEWS | DECEMBER 2023 | 19
In Memoriam
Charles Broz
Lois Henry
Judy Lott
By Mike Vergara, 951-473-5806
It's December, and the temperatures are finally back in
the "comfortable" range.
Meteor showers are always fun to watch, and
December's "Geminids" shower marks the end of meteor
shower season for 2023. Meteor showers are usually the
result of ice and dust that are shed when a comet travels
close to the sun. The Geminids are unique in that these
meteors are from a rocky asteroid body instead. The
shower's peak will be the night of Wednesday, Dec. 13-14.
The moon is new on Tuesday, Dec. 12, so there will be a
nice dark sky to see up to 120 meteors per hour.
Speaking of the moon, December's full moon is late
in the month on the 26th. This full moon's traditional
name is the "Full Cold Moon." Since it is very close to the
Winter Solstice, one of its alternative names, the "Long
Nights Moon," is also very appropriate.
The December solstice, occurring on Thursday, the
21st, marks the beginning of winter in the northern
hemisphere. This is the day with the shortest period of
daylight of all the days in the year. It's also the day when
the sun is at its most southern point in the sky. From
here in the northern hemisphere, that means the sun's
path in the sky is as low as it can get. After the 21st, the
days get longer again until the next solstice in June.
We still have big, bright Jupiter high in the evening
sky. In early December, Saturn will still be visible in the
western sky, but by mid-month it will be very low in the
sky. If you're an early bird, the really bright object in the
sky before sunrise is Venus.
I hope everyone here in The Colony has a safe and
Happy New Year!
Visit http://skymaps.com/index.html to print your own
map of the sky for the month. For information about
satellites or the ISS, go to https://heavens-above.com.
Clear skies!
The december Sky The december Sky
