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1
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Moon near Mercury (18° from Sun, evening sky) at 5h UT. Mag. -0.5.
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3
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Moon near Venus (44° from Sun, evening sky) at 11h UT. Mag. -4.2.
• Crescent Moon and Venus (APOD)
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5
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Moon near Mars (66° from Sun) at 9h UT. Mag. +0.7.
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7
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First Quarter Moon at 9:03 UT.
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11
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Mercury at greatest elongation east (21° from Sun, evening sky) at 4h UT. Mag. -0.4.
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12
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Moon near the Pleiades (evening sky) at 13h UT.
• The Pleiades (Wikipedia)
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12
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Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 23:27 UT (358,461 km; angular size 33.3').
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13
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Moon very near Aldebaran (evening sky) at 3h UT. Occultation visible from USA, Mexico and Canada.
• Occultation of Aldebaran (IOTA)
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14
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Full Moon at 00:06 UT.
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14
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Geminid Meteor Shower peaks at 17h UT. Major activity lasts 22 hours. Produces bright, medium-speed meteors at its peak (up to 80 meteors/hour). Most reliable meteor shower.
Easy to observe (radiant shown on sky map). Best seen after midnight, but moonlight interferes badly in 2016.
• Observing the Geminids (Gary Kronk)
• Meteor Shower Calendar (IMO)
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15
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Moon near Castor (morning sky) at 23h UT.
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16
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Moon near Pollux (morning sky) at 3h UT.
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17
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Moon near Beehive cluster (morning sky) at 3h UT.
• Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia)
• M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
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18
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Moon very near Regulus (morning sky) at 17h UT. Occultation visible from southwest Australia.
• Occultation of Regulus (IOTA)
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21
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Last Quarter Moon at 1:56 UT.
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21
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December solstice at 10:44 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)
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22
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Moon near Jupiter (morning sky) at 18h UT. Mag. -1.9.
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23
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Moon near Spica (morning sky) at 2h UT.
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25
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Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 6h UT (distance 405,870 km; angular size 29.4').
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27
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Moon near Saturn (16° from Sun, morning sky) at 21h UT. Mag. +0.5.
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28
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Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 19h UT. Mercury passes into the morning sky.
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29
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New Moon at 6:53 UT. Start of lunation 1163.
• Lunation Number (Wikipedia)
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All times Universal Time (UT). USA Eastern Standard Time = UT - 5 hours.
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