| December 2nd | Seven Sisters/Pleiades |
| December 13th and 14th | Geminid meteor shower peak prediction |
| December 15th | full cold moon |
| December 21st | winter solstice |
| December 22nd and 23rd | Peak of Ursa Minor meteor shower predicted |
| December 25th | Christmas crescent moon and spicia |
It’s been quite a year for space phenomena, including a solar eclipse in April, bright auroras shining in unusual locations amid strong solar storms, and some interesting comets. We’ll end this year with two annual meteor shower And there are also exciting opportunities to observe the stars and planets of our galaxy. December nights in the Northern Hemisphere are among the longest of the year. That means more opportunities to come together and look at the sky. Here’s what to look out for in the final months of 2024.
December 2 – Seven Sisters/Pleiades
From December 2nd, a small concentrated group of stars called the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters or Messier 45, will Eastern sky at 7:30 p.m. local time. According to the Farmer Almanac, the Seven Sisters star cluster may be one of the first objects ever recorded. It was known to the Greek poet Hesiod about 3,000 years ago and is also mentioned in Chinese records dating back to 2357 BC. It is also mentioned three times in the Bible.
it is about It is 410 light-years away from Earth and has a diameter of about 20 light-years.. Formed about 20 million years ago, it is relatively young for a star and contains several hundred stars.
The Pleiades star cluster is located in the constellation Taurus and can be found by identifying the famous Orion constellation and its distinctive three-star “band.” According to the Royal Greenwich MuseumThen, if you follow the line formed by the belt upwards, you will see a bright reddish star called Aldebaran, the bull’s eye of Taurus. From Aldebaran, continue in the same direction until you see a dense group of blue stars.
[Related: ‘Christmas tree’ galaxy shines in new image from Hubble and JWST.]
December 13th and 14th – Geminid meteor shower peak predicted
The annual Geminid meteor shower is generally one of the most reliable meteor showers of the year. The Geminid meteor shower is Peak is expected on December 13th and 14th. However, this year it will coincide with a full moon, so it will be a little difficult to see shooting stars due to the moonlight. If you look in the dark at 2 a.m. local time on Dec. 13, you’re most likely to encounter this rain.
Many Geminid meteors are especially bright and white, so they can shine in the moonlight.
December 15th – Full Cold Moon
The last full moon of the year will reach peak illumination at 4:02 a.m. EST on December 15th. To calculate when a cold moon will rise near you, visit the following site: Old Farmer’s Almanac Moonrise Calculator.
Cold Moon is the Mohican name for the cold air that blankets the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year. other December full moon names Including the big winter months, Gichi Bibuni Gigis Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwa), dead winter moon, or Ukiuguraku Inupiat and the winter moon, or Joto:h At Seneca.
December 21 – Winter Solstice
The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice. summer solstice It will officially arrive on Saturday, December 21st at 4:21am EST.
Because the Earth is tilted on its axis, during the winter and summer solstices, half of the Earth faces away from the sun and the other half faces towards the sun. Technically, the solstice lasts only a momentwhen the hemisphere (in this case the northern hemisphere) is tilted as far away from the sun as possible.
[ Related: What is a solstice? And other questions about the shortest day of the year, answered. ]
The winter solstice is also the shortest day of the year. For those of us living in the northern hemisphere, we’ll see the least amount of daylight on the 21st. After that, the days get longer until the summer solstice in June.
December 22nd and 23rd – Ursa Minor meteor shower
If the cold moon really blocked out the Geminid meteor shower, we wouldn’t have to wait that long for another one. The 2024 Uruid meteor shower is predicted to reach its peak on December 22nd and 23rd. According to EarthSkythe Ursa Minoris meteor shower is a little more obscure than the Geminid meteor shower, but it’s still worth investigating.
Under clear skies, about 5 to 10 meteors can occur per hour. To catch the last meteor shower of 2024, Big Dipper in Ursa Minor in the early morning hours.
December 25th – Christmas Crescent Moon and Spica
If you wake up before sunrise on Christmas morning, Crescent moon Spica next to the star. This is the brightest moon in Virgo. You can consult with: Farmer’s Almanac Crescent Calendar Calculate the best time to search nearby.
The same sky-watching rules are key this month as well. Go to a dark place, away from city or town lights, and allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness for about 30 minutes.
