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Sky Calendar -- December 2009

1	Moon near the Pleiades (midnight sky) at 15h UT.
2	Full Moon at 7:31 UT.
4	Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 14h UT (363,479 km; 32.9').
5	Moon near Pollux (morning sky) at 5h UT.
6	Moon near Beehive cluster (M44) (morning sky) at 5h UT.
6	Moon near Mars (morning sky) at 23h UT. Mag. -0.2.
7	Moon near Regulus (morning sky) at 19h UT.
9	Last Quarter Moon at 00:13 UT.
10	Moon near Saturn (morning sky) at 5h UT. Mag. +1.0.
11	Moon near Spica (morning sky) at 18h UT.
14	Geminid Meteor Shower peaks at 5h UT. Produces bright, medium-speed meteors at its peak (up to 80 meteors/hour). The parent body of the Geminids is a mysterious asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon believed to be an "extinct comet." Very favorable viewing conditions this year. • The Geminids (Gary Kronk) • Meteor Shower Calendar 2009 (IMO)
16	New Moon at 12:02 UT. Start of lunation 1076. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia)
18	Moon near Mercury (20° from Sun, evening sky) at 7h UT. Mag. -0.5.
18	Mercury at greatest elongation, 20° east from Sun (evening sky) at 17h UT. Mag. -0.5.
20	Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 15h UT (distance 405,731 km; angular size 29.5').
21	Jupiter 0.53° SSE from Neptune at 10h UT (evening sky). Mags. -2.2 and +7.9.
21	Moon near Jupiter (evening sky) at 12h UT. Mag. -2.2.
21	December solstice at 17:47 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point farthest south of the celestial equator marking the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. • December Solstice (Wikipedia)
24	First Quarter Moon at 17:36 UT.
29	Moon near the Pleiades (evening sky) at 1h UT.
31	Full Moon at 19:13 UT. • Blue Moon (Wikipedia)
31	Partial Eclipse of the Moon from 18:52 to 19:54 UT, mid-eclipse at 19:23 UT. Very slight eclipse visible from Europe, Africa and Asia. • Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2009 Dec 31 (PDF) (NASA) • Eclipses During 2009 (NASA)
All times Universal Time (UT). USA Eastern Standard Time = UT - 5 hours.

Clear skies till next month!

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Sky Calendar References:

Astronomical Calendar 2009 (book) by Guy Ottewell
Starry Night Pro Plus v6.3 (software) by Imaginova
Sky & Telescope (magazine) by Sky Publishing
Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets (book) by Jean Meeus
Celestial Delights (book) by Francis Reddy and Greg Walz-Chojnacki

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