Astronomical phenomena December 2014

Opportunities for observation for December 2014:

06 december 2014 - Full Moon. Earth is between the Sun and the Moon and so the Moon will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 14:27 GMT +2.

06 december 2014 - Aldebaran 1.5 ° S of Moon at 6:35 GMT +2.

12 december 2014 - Moon at apogee. Luna reaches the farthest point from Earth (404,338 km from Earth) at 01:04 GMT +2.

12 december 2014 -Mars at perihelion. The planet will be at its closest point to the Sun at 14:00 GMT +2.

13, 14 december 2014 - Geminid meteor shower- is considered by many to be the best meteor shower on the the sky. Geminids are known to produce up to 60 multicolored meteors per hour at their peak. Most usually appear on, or around 13 by December and 14, although some meteors should be visible between 06 and 19 December. They radiate from the constellation Gemini and originates from the asteroid 3200 Phaeton. This year, the Moon will block some of the meteors, but Geminids are so brilliant and it would still be a good show. The best observation is to the east after midnight in a dark area.

21 december 2014 -The December solstice occurs at 02:03 GMT +2. South Pole of the Earth will be tilted towards the Sun, and will reach the most northern position in the sky. This makes it the first day of winter (winter solstice), the northern hemisphere, and the first day of summer (summer solstice), in the southern hemisphere.

22 december 2014 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 03:36 GMT +2.

22, 23 december 2014 - Ursid meteor shower. Ursids are a minor meteor shower which produces only about 5 to 10 meteors per hour. This is caused by dust left by the comet Tuttle, which was discovered in 1790. The shower is happening annually from December 17 to 26. This year, the maximum will occur on the night of 22. It will be one of the best years to observe Ursids, as there will be no moonlight to interfere with the show. The best observations are after midnight, in a dark area., Away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

24 december 2014 - Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth (364,791 km from Earth) at 18:44 GMT +2.


Legend:
-Perihelion-position in the orbit of a planet closest to the Sun.
-Aphelion - position in the orbit of a planet farthest from the Sun.
-Perigee -  the position of the Moon closest to Earth.
-Apogee -  the position of the Moon farthest to Earth.
-Inferior Conjunction - Mercury or Venus passing between the Earth and Sun.
-Superior Conjunction - Mercury or Venus passes on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth.
-Greatest elongation - elongation is the angle between the Sun and a planet as seen from Earth, during eastern elongation (E), the planet appears as an evening star, during western elongation (W), the planet appears as a morning star.
-Opposition - position in the orbit of a planet when opposites the Sun as seen from Earth.
-Conjunction - position in the orbit of a planet when appears closer to the Sun as seen from Earth.
-Occultation - Moon occults or eclipses a star or a planet.
-Ascending Node - the point where a planet passes from the southern to the northern part of its orbit.
-Descending Node - the point where a planet passes from the northern to the southern side of its orbit.

Posted in: Astronomical calendar 2014