The Night Sky in December!
This is not intended to be comprehensive - it is a quick guide to help you find a few things in the night sky without any equipment - just your eyes.
All of these are very bright and easy to find when walking around the village.
The planets - lots to see this month!
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Mercury is very low at sunrise in the SE mid to late in the month.
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Venus - is seen at sunset very bright setting in the west.
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Saturn at sunset it is very high in the south and sets in the west around 10pm and 9pm at the end of the month.
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Mars rises around 8pm, and 6pm at the end of the month, in the NE and is seen all night.
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Jupiter rises in the NE at sunset and is very bright and can be seen all night.
The full Moon is on the 15th. It rises in the NE around 4pm. It will be close to the horizon.
Look out for the attached charts to help you find Auriga, Taurus, Orion ans Gemini. Also the plough and how to find north.
The International Space Station passes (ISS) this month are in the morning. there is a very bright one starting at 6:10am on the 23rd.
Look out for the Geminids meteor shower on the 13th and 14th. You can see up to 100 an hour but the Moon is bright and will wash most ot them out.
I have made or found the following charts to help you find: -
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5th Moon and venus 4:30pm
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8th Saturn and Moon 5pm
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14th Jupiter and Moon 4:30pm
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17th Mars and Moon 7pm
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28th Moon and Mercury 7am
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31st Saturn and Venus 5:30pm