Astronomy Calendar, Dec. 2008

The following is a list of celestial events occurring in the month of December 2008.

• December 5 - The Lunar X is predicted to occur at 00:50 UTC. The Lunar X is a combination of lit and unlit craters that forms an x-like shape.


• December 7 - Earliest sunset of 2008.


• December 11 - The Moon is 0.7° north of the Pleiades at 08:00 UTC.


• December 13 - The peak of the Geminid meteor shower occurs at 23:00 UTC. ZHR's are predicted to be around 100 meteors per hour, but once again the nearly full moon will greatly inhibit viewing of this meteor shower. The brighter meteors will still be visible, but don't expect to see the dimmer ones. Still, I would check this out, it might be worthwhile. Click here for more details.


• December 19 - Saturn is 6° north of the Moon.


• December 21 - Winter Solstice occurs at 12:04 UTC.


• December 25 - Merry Christmas!


• December 29 - Mercury is 0.7° south of the Moon. Jupiter is 0.6° north of the Moon. This should make for another entertaining conjunction.


• December 31 - Mercury is 1.3° south of Jupiter. Venus is 3° south of the Moon.

This list will be updated if I get any new information.

Clear skies!