Sunday, December 27
The Quadrantid meteor shower, which peaks the morning of January 3, will begin ramping up today. Unfortunately, there’s a bright Moon in the sky between now and the shower’s peak; however, given its expected maximum rate of 120 meteors per hour, patient observers still stand a good chance of catching bright shower meteors as the peak approaches. This is particularly true as the Quadrantids often produce bright
fireballs — meteors that briefly flare to magnitude –3 or brighter.
The shower’s radiant lies in another extinct constellation — Quadrans Muralis. Today, that sits in the constellation Boötes, home to the familiar bright star Arcturus. The region rises after midnight and stands highest in the eastern sky before dawn, so early mornings for the next several days will be the best time to hunt down shower meteors. This shower is associated with two parent bodies: Comet 96P/Machholz and the minor planet 2003 EH1. Its particles streak through the atmosphere at speeds of 26 miles (42 kilometers) per second — medium fast, as far as meteors go.
Do meteor showers produce meteorites? Find out the answer here!
Sunrise: 7:21 A.M.
Sunset: 4:42 P.M.
Moonrise: 2:55 P.M.
Moonset: 5:01 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (95%)
Monday, December 28
A week after their Great Conjunction, Jupiter and Saturn are still sharing close quarters in the sky. They’re less than 1° apart, with magnitude –2 Jupiter just east of magnitude 0.6 Saturn.
Just like last week, you’ll want to start looking for them low in the southwest as soon as twilight begins to darken the sky because they’re both sinking fast. And just like last week, Ganymede is closing in for another transit across Jupiter’s disk — this one doesn’t start until about 10:30 P.M. EST, however, long after the planet has set for those in the continental U.S.
As the gas giants sink below the horizon, look west to see bright Altair in Aquila, now only about 15° high. From Altair, look north-northwest to spot Vega in Lyra; from Vega, gaze east-northeast to find Deneb in Cygnus. These three stars create the familiar Summer Triangle, which gains its name from its position high overhead on summer nights. Now that it’s winter, the Triangle will set earlier and earlier, until its three stars are below the horizon during the cold nighttime hours.
Sunrise: 7:21 A.M.
Sunset: 4:43 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:35 P.M.
Moonset: 6:02 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (98%)
Tuesday, December 29
Full Moon occurs at 10:28 P.M. EST tonight. Because our bright satellite washes out much of the sky with its glare, consider getting to know some of the terrain on Earth’s closest neighbor instead.
The face of the Moon we see from Earth has several dark splotches visible to the naked eye. These are its maria, or seas, although they were never filled with water. Instead, these dark regions are ancient lava flows. Some of the most easily recognizable are Mare Imbrium and Oceanus Procellarum in the lunar west (the Moon’s left side as you see it in the sky), and Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis, and Mare Fecunditatis in the lunar east (the Moon’s right side in the sky).
Near the bottom of the Moon is a large crater — Tycho — with long, bright rays of material stretching almost halfway up the face of our satellite. These are made of material thrown up during the impact that formed the crater, which traveled great distances in the Moon’s low gravity to ultimately sink down to the ground much farther away.
Sunrise: 7:22 A.M.
Sunset: 4:43 P.M.
Moonrise: 4:21 P.M.
Moonset: 7:01 A.M.
Moon Phase: Full