SKYWATCH

December 1996

by Steve Stefanik

As we approach the winter solstice, which this year occurs on December 21 at 9:06 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the sun sets earlier each day. Although there are the shortest number of daylight hours on this day, the sun actually sets at its earliest on December 7 due to our latitude. All one needs to do is to look toward the east in the early December evenings for seven bright stars which make up the constellation Orion the hunter to know that winter is on the way. He can be easily recognized by the three bright first magnitude stars Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka which form a straight line across his belt and the three dimmer stars which form his sword hangs from the left side of it making it look like a big kite. The second "star" in the sword is actually M42, the Great Orion Nebula, a region of nebulous hydrogen gas and dust where new stars and planets are being formed. Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka were supposedly the three wise men who followed a mysteriously bright star to the town of Bethlehem 1,996 years ago this December.

As the sun sets, the planet Jupiter is still the first celestial object which can be spotted low in the southwestern sky. Comet Hale-Bopp can still be found to the left and higher than Jupiter among the stars of Ophiuchus as a 5th magnitude "fuzzy star". This will be the last month to view it before it "rises" just before the sun in the east in January of next year.

The planet Saturn takes center stage in the south during the month of December. You shouldn’t have any problem locating the first magnitude giant among the dim stars of the constellation Pisces the fish. It’s rings can be seen through a good pair of binoculars or even a small telescope.

The ruddy red planet Mars rises shortly after midnight in the southeast among the stars of the constellation Leo the lion. It moves into the nearby constellation Virgo by the end of December when it reaches +0.6 magnitude. If you have difficulty locating it a waning crescent moon will be near it on the morning of the 4th.

Venus rises in the glow of morning twilight but at -4.0 magnitude you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding it.

This year the full Yule Moon will occur on Christmas Eve and if its a "white" Christmas in conjunction with a full moon Santa may be hard pressed to get around undetected so have a cool yule all!