December is, of course, the month of Christmas. But also winter solstice and gemini. For fans of astronomical events in general and meteor showers in particular, this is almost as exciting as the Christmas holidays. In fact, for some it can be much more exciting.
In the astronomical events of December these are the two main characters. Solstice, which gives way to winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere and the Geminids. This is a very interesting meteor shower because it is almost as intense as Perseids August and in addition, its meteors are blue to greenish in color, which makes them special. They are perhaps less well known in the northern hemisphere because it is true that you should cover yourself enough to see them. But is it worth it? So do bears, although the truth is that there are far fewer of them.
Also, like all astronomical events, December brings a lot of events. unions this will make looking up at the sky a real spectacle. Without further ado, if any of this interests you, take out the agenda and write down the dates. Then don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Great meteor showers of December astronomical events
This December, as always, astronomical events are marked primarily by Gemini.
For many, this is the most powerful meteor shower in existence. At its peak, up to 120 meteors per hour can be seen emanating from the debris Asteroid 3200 Phaeton. Meteor shower will be visible this year from 7 to 17 Decemberwith a peak at night from 13 to 14 December. This is ideal timing as there will be a new moon on the 12th so the skies will be especially dark.
To see them, just find a dark place and look anywhere in the sky. The radiant, the place from which meteors appear to be born, is located at Gemini constellationbut in fact they can be seen anywhere
Later, in night from 21 to 22 December will have its peak Ursids. This is a much smaller meteor shower, with only about 10 meteors per hour. it will be seen from 17 to 25 December, therefore, we cannot exclude that the star that led the Three Wise Men in the sky to the manger in which Jesus was born was a bear. We might see some this year with a little patience. These meteors come from the remains of Comet Tuttle and aren’t all that impressive, but they’re also worth noting in our astronomical events lineup.
December solstice
In fact, the December solstice is not a spectacle in the sky, but it is no less interesting to learn about. December 22, at 03:21 UTC (04:21 Spanish Peninsula time) the south pole of the Earth will tilt towards the Sun, and winter will begin in the northern hemisphere, and summer in the southern hemisphere.
Cold Moon
As we always say in astronomical events, the full moon, which this time will be on December 27th, has a name that comes from ancient Native American legends. This time it’s about cold moonfor obvious reasons.
Unmissable conjunctions in astronomical events
As with all astronomical events, we can’t ignore conjunctions. Those phenomena in which two stars pose together in the sky. In this case, although there are many more, among the most important to see and photograph we find the conjunction of the Moon with Venus on the 9th, with Mercury on the 14th, with Saturn on the 17th and with Jupiter on the 22nd .
Source: Hiper Textual
