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    Articles > December 2021
 
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YEAR BOOKS

Guide to the Night Sky 2021
2021 Guide to the Night Sky

A monthly guide to the night sky in 2021 with star charts, sky calendar, planet data, moon phases, and meteor showers.
More info | Buy now



PLANISPHERES

All sky watchers need a planisphere to quickly show the location of stars and constellations for any date and time. Note: Planispheres are designed for specific latitudes so be sure to select one for your latitude.


Guide to the Stars

(5th Edition, Jan. 2013)
A very large 16-inch diameter information-rich planisphere (plastic) for use anywhere between latitude 30° & 60° North. Also available in a Southern Hemisphere edition.
More info | Buy now

200+ Customer Reviews

More Planispheres



The Night Sky Planisphere

A very popular 8-inch diameter, two-sided planisphere (plastic) designed to depict the night sky with less distortion than regular planispheres. Available for several latitudes, and in a smaller 5-inch edition.
More info | Buy now
• Only $11.95 •

150+ Customer Reviews

Night Sky Editions
Latitude 20° to 30° North
Latitude 30° to 40° North
Latitude 40° to 50° North
Latitude 50° to 60° North
Southern Hemisphere
(more info)





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  Sky Calendar -- December 2021
1 Moon near Spica at 4h UT (45° from Sun, morning sky).
Spica (Wikipedia)
3 Moon near Mars at 2h UT (18° from Sun, morning sky). Mag. 1.6.
Mars (Wikipedia)
4 New Moon at 7:43 UT. Start of lunation 1224.
4 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 10:12 UT (distance 356,794 km; angular size 33.5'). 2.5 hours after New Moon.
6 Moon at southernmost declination (−26.33°) at 3h UT.
7 Moon near Venus at 2h UT (evening sky). Mag. −4.7.
Venus (Wikipedia)
7 Venus at its brightest at 16h UT. Mag. −4.7.
8 Moon near Saturn at 4h UT (evening sky). Mag. 0.7.
Saturn (Wikipedia)
9 Moon near Jupiter at 10h UT (evening sky). Mag. −2.2.
Jupiter (Wikipedia)
10 Moon shows maximum libration (10.4�) for the year at 7h UT.
Libration (Wikipedia)
11 First Quarter Moon at 1:36 UT.
14 Geminid Meteor Shower peaks in a broad maximum centred at 7h UT. Produces bright, medium-speed meteors at its peak (up to 80 meteors/hour). Most reliable annual meteor shower. Easy to observe (radiant on sky map). Best after midnight. Some interference from moonlight.
Meteor Shower Calendar (IMO)
Geminids (NASA)
Geminids of the North (APOD)
15 Moon near Uranus at 8h UT (evening sky). Mag. 5.7.
Uranus (Wikipedia)
16 Moon near the Pleiades at 23h UT (evening sky).
The Pleiades (Wikipedia)
17 Moon near Aldebaran at 17h UT (evening sky).
Aldebaran (Wikipedia)
18 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 2h UT (distance 406,320 km; angular size 29.4').
19 Full Moon at 4:37 UT.
19 Moon near M35 star cluster at 15h UT (midnight sky).
21 Moon near Castor at 5h UT (morning sky).
21 Moon near Pollux at 10h UT (morning sky).
21 December solstice at 15:57 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)
22 Moon near Beehive cluster M44 at 13h UT (morning sky).
Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia)
M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
24 Moon near Regulus at 9h UT (morning sky).
Regulus (Wikipedia)
27 Last Quarter Moon at 2:25 UT.
27 Mars 4.5° N of Antares at 20h UT (26° from Sun, morning sky). Mags. 1.6 and 1.0. The red planet pairs up with its red 'rival'.
28 Moon near Spica at 13h UT (morning sky).
Spica (Wikipedia)
29 Mercury 4.2° S of Venus at 6h UT (17° from Sun, evening sky). Mags. −0.7 and −4.4.
All times Universal Time (UT).
  • US Eastern Standard Time = UT − 5 hours.
  • US Pacific Standard Time = UT − 8 hours.
  • Australian Eastern Daylight Time = UT + 11 hours
  • Singapore Standard Time = UT + 8 hours.

Clear skies till next month!

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