This week sees the Moon and Jupiter make for a nice pairing in the chilly December evening sky and also the start of the Geminids meteor shower, one of the more bountiful of the annual displays.
Firstly, Jupiter, which has been outshining everything else for some time in the south-eastern half of the sky, and is unmistakeable as the bright object easily seen soon after dark.
Captured here by Dave Eagle using a Sky-Watcher ESPRIT-120ED telescope, you can clearly see the cloud bands on the disk of Jupiter, denoting areas where different chemicals are present in the planet’s atmosphere.
Even a smaller telescope should be able to make out these features.
Jupiter has no hard surface to land upon, making for what could be described as a giant gas ball, eleven times larger than the Earth with an average temperature of -100 degrees Celsius. Jupiter is also a very fast spinner, completing one Jovian day in less than 10 Earth hours.
Through a pair of binoculars or a telescope, Jupiter’s four inner moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto can also be seen, appearing as small dots of light near to the giant planet. In total, Jupiter has 97 officially recognised moons, unofficially, 274.
This Sunday, December 7, Jupiter will appear near to a waning Moon making for an easy target to observe both in one evening.
Saturn is also on view, situated in the constellation of Aquarius, not as bright as Jupiter, but easy to spot in the south west after dark, and setting before midnight.
The Geminids meteor shower fires up during the week ahead with peak activity occurring next weekend. However, it’s well worth a watch from Monday onwards, focusing on the south-eastern half of the sky and the constellation of Gemini with its two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, both of which can be seen with the naked eye.
The shower is best observed late evening and into the early hours of the morning, with hourly rates increasing nightly.
We can expect 150 meteors per hour by late week and into the weekend.
Remember, all the observing can be done without the need for binoculars or a telescope, but do wrap up warm and if observing alone, let someone know where you are.
In space news, the largest coordinated study of an interstellar comet has revealed some quite staggering findings.
Headed up by NASA, Comet 3I/ATLAS, which makes its closest approach to Earth on December 19, is thought to have formed far, far away, in a system predating the formation of own solar system by billions of years.
The material that forms the comet’s nucleus is believed to have been forged from debris that were circling another star.
The International Space Station, (ISS), returns to our skies during December with a notable appearance on Christmas Day morning. If you’re up and around early on Thursday December 11, look to the southwest around 7.50am for a slow moving bright light heading south west to south east.
Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@themoon.co.uk
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