LUPU VICTOR ASTRONOMY: Astronomical phenomena December 2013

Monday 2 December 2013

Astronomical phenomena December 2013

Monday, December 02, 2013

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Calendar with astronomical events of December. The most important event for amateur astronomers this month should definitely be comet ISON which this month it would had make its appearance in our sky, most likely to be seen with the naked eye. But, on November 28, comet ISON in which we've put so much hope that it would be spectacular in the sky of December, suffered an "accident" at the meeting with Sun unfortunately. Best photos of the comet remained those from November.

03 december 2013 - New Moon. Moon will be between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase takes place at 00:22.

04 december 2013 - Moon at the Perigee at 12:15 Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth: 360,065 km from Earth.

13, 14 december 2013 - Geminid meteor shower- is considered by many to be the best meteor shower on the the sky. Geminids are known to produce up to 60 multicolored meteors per hour at their peak. Most usually appear on, or around 13 by December and 14, although some meteors should be visible between 06 and 19 December. They radiate from the constellation Gemini and originates from the asteroid 3200 Phaeton. This year, New Moon will guarantee a dark sky, so it would be a wonderful show. The best observation is to the east after midnight in a dark area.

17 december 2013 - Full Moon. Earth is between the Sun and the Moon and so the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 09:28.

20 december 2013- Moon at the Apogee at 1:49 Moon reaches apogee, the farthest point from Earth: 406,269 km from Earth.

21 december 2013 -The December solstice occurs at 13:12. South Pole of the Earth will be tilted towards the Sun, and will reach the most northern position in the sky. This makes it the first day of winter (winter solstice), the northern hemisphere, and the first day of summer (summer solstice), in the southern hemisphere.

22 december 2013 - Mercury at Aphelion . Mercury reaches the farthest point from the Sun at 02:00.

26 december 2013 - Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), In December 26, 2013 will be closest to Earth, 64 million miles. The comet will be at perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 28 November 2013, at a distance of 0.012 AU (1.8 million km) from the center of the Sun.