Sky this Month-December 2010

1 Moon near Saturn (morning sky) at 13h UT. Mag. +0.9. 1 Mercury at greatest elongation, 22° east from Sun (evening sky) at 16h UT. Mag. -0.4. 2 Moon near Spica (morning sky) at 3h UT. 2 Venus at its brightest at 11h UT (morning sky). Mag. -4.7. 2 Moon near Venus at 18h UT (morning sky). 5 New Moon at 17:36 UT. Start of lunation 1088. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia) 7 Moon near Mercury at 7h UT (19° from Sun). Mag. -0.1. 13 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 9h UT (distance 404,406 km; angular size 29.3'). 13 First Quarter Moon at 13:59 UT. 13 Moon near Jupiter at 21h UT. Mag. -2.5. 14 Geminid Meteor Shower peaks at 11h UT. Produces bright, medium-speed meteors at its peak (up to 80 meteors/hour). Very favorable viewing conditions this year. • Observing the Geminids (Gary Kronk) • The Geminids (IMO) 19 Moon near Aldebaran (evening sky) at 23h UT. 20 Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 1h UT. Mercury passes into the morning sky. 21 Full Moon at 8:13 UT. • Full Moon Names (Wikipedia) 21 Total Eclipse of the Moon begins at 7:41 UT and ends at 8:53 UT. Mid-eclipse at 8:17 UT. Partial phases begin at 6:33 UT and end at 10:01 UT. Moon will appear red-orange in color during totality (the Earth's shadow). Entire eclipse visible from North America, and eastern Pacific Ocean. • Total Lunar Eclipse of 2010 Dec 21 (NASA) • Lunar Eclipses for Beginners (NASA) 21 December solstice at 23:43 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 Moon near Beehive cluster M44 (morning sky) at 1h UT. 25 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 12h UT (368,465 km; 32.7'). 25 Moon near Regulus (morning sky) at 16h UT. 28 Last Quarter Moon at 4:18 UT. 29 Moon near Spica (morning sky) at 10h UT. 31 Moon near Venus at 15h UT (morning sky). All times Universal Time (UT). USA Eastern Standard Time = UT - 5 hours, Indian Standard Time=UT + 5:30 hours. Credits: Skymaps For skymap-http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html