December 2007 - Mars and the Moon |
|
|
|
Written by Ken From
|
|
Friday, 28 December 2007 |
There are few things as beautiful as the star-filled
sky on a crisp, clear winter night! From a dark sky
location it is hard to miss the grandeur of our overhead celestial
canopy, sparkling like thousands of diamonds on black
velvet. In December the Pleiades star cluster, also known
as the Seven Sisters, casts its glitter in the eastern sky as Orion,
the hunter, slowly rises above the horizon followed by Sirius, the
brightest star in our sky and Orion’s faithful dog. With our long
nights it is possible to watch bright stars like Vega set in the west
in the evening and watch them rise in the east the next morning.
The planetary highlight this month is Mars. Every 26 months
the earth draws close to Mars offering the appearance of a bright
reddish star. If you wait until midnight, Mars will be high in the sky
and a modest telescope should reveal surface detail and a white polar
cap. Turbulence in the earth’s atmosphere and dust storms on Mars
may blur your view but with several attempts, you might find an evening
with clear views from the surface of one planet to the surface a
planetary neighbour. A special event, not to be missed, occurs in
the early evening of December 23. From our position on
earth it will appear that two celestial bodies, the moon and Mars will
meet. Some of us will see the moon pass in front of Mars
and others will see a “grazing” of Mars by the moon. If you draw
a line on a map from Portland, OR through Calgary, AB and then through
Lloydminster, SK, those to the south and east of this line will see a
grazing where the moon passes closely above Mars. Those to
the north and west of that line will see the moon pass in front of
Mars. With Mars close to earth and bright in our skies,
this should be a unique celestial event. A hoax regularly
circulates claiming that Mars will appear as large as the full
moon. Hopefully the view of Mars beside the moon on
December 23 will help dispel this silly myth.
Another special event in December is the Geminid
Meteor shower which culminates on Friday, December 14. Though it
may be cold, the quarter moon sets early and provides us with a dark
sky to see what may be the best meteor shower of the year.
Bundle up and find a spot where you can view most of the sky. You
may see up to 120 meteors per hour. Throughout the evening take a
break to view Mars, Orion and the Beehive star cluster with binoculars
or telescope.
During November comet Holmes gained attention
because of a sudden increase in its brightness. By December
it will have faded significantly but might still be visible in the
northeastern evening sky. With their majestic tails
and often large span of the sky, comets induce more wonder and
awe than most celestial bodies. They are often
unpredictable and the recent brightening of Comet Holmes was
unexpected. Some news sources and many astronomy websites can
alert you to these special events that arise.
Finally, on December mornings you can continue to
enjoy beautiful views of Venus which blazes brightly in the pre-dawn
sky along with Saturn to the upper right of Venus. The
rings of Saturn have closed up significantly from our springtime views
but it is still one of the most awe inspiring sights through a
telescope. At this time of year, a nighttime view of the heavens
can connect us with the Biblical story of the wise men from the East
who were guided in their journey by their understanding of the
movements of celestial bodies. Our view of the heavens this
winter are in most ways identical to the views of our ancestors.
May all your skies be clear as we wish you much
peace and joy in this holiday season and the welcoming of the New
Year.
|
|
