Sirius brings light to the dark sky
WELCOME to what is happening in the skies above Moray in December. This map is for 9pm on the 15th and will cover all the evening's major events.
The nights are now very long, and on the 21st the Sun touches the tropic of Capricorn (the Winter Solstice), and that's as far south as it goes. After that, it begins its long slow climb northwards, but it is slow at first and December and January seem to be dark all the time. So now to the night sky.
In the north-west is Hercules, sitting on the horizon below Draco's head. Next to them, the Summer Triangle, consisting of Deneb in Cygnus and Vega in the Lyra, and Altair in Aquila, is still intact, but only just as Altair is just about to set. In the south-west is the top of Aquarius and above that is the head of Pisces and then the box of Pegasus. Andromeda is to the left of Pegasus, and above Andromeda and directly overhead is the W of Cassiopeia. On the southern horizon is Cetus the whale and Eridanus the river.
The south-east is were the real action is. Perseus and Auriga with its bright star Capella sit above Taurus the bull, with its bright orange star Aldebaran. And below Taurus, now in full glory, is the constellation of Orion, with its beautiful nebula. If you wait another hour, you will see Sirius rising, the brightest star in the night sky.
In the east is Gemini the twins, followed by Cancer with its lovely Bee Hive cluster. In the north-east is the Plough (Ursa Major). Follow the pointers past Draco's tail to the tip of the little bears tail (Ursa Minor), which is Polaris (the pole star) and below the great bear on the north-east horizon is the head of Leo just rising. And if you look between Leo and Cancer, you will see the planet Mars, god of war, climbing into the night sky.
If you have heard the phrase "Once in a Blue Moon" this is the month. It means two full moons in a calendar month, and it is full on the 2nd and the 31st. Add to that on the 31st part of it will turn red. No, it's not too much drink; it's a partial eclipse, which runs from 6.52pm to 7.23pm. The Moon is new on the 16th. The ISS is not visible at the moment. For more details, visit www.heavens-above.com
The aurora is still very quiet, but you never know so keep looking north.
There are two meteor showers this month. The Geminids are active from the 1st to the 20th with a peak on the 14th. It is expected to hit 100 per hour, and close to the dark of the moon, it should be a spectacular site. The Ursids run from the 17th to the 25th with a peak on the 22nd of about 12 per hour. And keep an eye open for that strange red object pre dawn on the morning of the 25th!
For more information, look at our website www.sigma-astro.co.uk or contact myself, Ian Brantingham, at ian@branters.freeserve.co.uk, Tel 01466 771371.
Thanks to Chris Peat at www.heavens-above.com for the use of his star maps.
