Title: December Skywatch Highlights
Location: Hawaiian Islands
Date / Time: December 2008
Comments: Behold our Winter skies! It's wonderful to view Orion & his faithful hunting dogs, as well as Taurus, Gemini & other Winter constellations, returning to our night skies. VENUS & JUPITER still appear close to each other in early December. Our two brightest planets sparkle in the southwest after sunset. Following a spectacular conjunction on Nov.30th, the pair now appear to be drawing apart, further by approx. 1 degree each evening. While Venus, our brightest planet, climbs higher in the western sky, Jupiter appears to descend lower & lower into the twilight. Around Dec. 15th, look for Venus & Jupiter from about 6:45 PM until 8 PM, when Jupiter sets. Jupiter remains in Sagittarius throughout the month, while Venus crosses Capricornus & ends the year in Aquarius. MERCURY joins Jupiter for yet another "planetary gathering," visible by Dec. 25th. Look for Mercury about halfway between Jupiter & the western horizon around 6:25 PM. Easy to spot the pair Dec.29th, when a faint crescent Moon lies nearby. On Dec. 31st, Jupiter & Mercury will appear side by side in conjunction, with the Moon above the pair & adjacent to Venus. You'll need to view between 6:30 PM, when it's dark enough to see Jupiter & Mercury, and 7PM when these planets set. SATURN is the only planet visible in the morning sky. Saturn rises almost exactly due east at 2AM in early December, and by 12:15 AM at months end. You'll find it high in south prior to dawn, near the border between Leo & Virgo. Saturn appears dimmer now (mag. 1.1) as it's glorious rings, which typically reflect more light than the planet's disk, appear almost edge-on to our line of sight from Earth. MARS will be traveling behind the Sun this month & will not be viewable until it returns to our morning sky in March. From Dec.10th into January, we'll be able to view Crux, the Southern Cross, in the early morning prior to dawn. You'll need a cloudless view of the southern horizon. Around Dec. 10th the Southern Cross rises around 5:45AM & the sky starts to lighten by 6. On Dec. 25th, it will rise at around 4:45 so you'll have over an hour to spot it before daybreak. By New Year's Eve, Crux is up by 3:45 AM. For further details & a December sky map, visit Bishop Museum Planetarium www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium (bishopmuseum.org).

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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