December 28, 201 – January 10, 2016
Mt. Washington — Planet Mercury is a gem of light low in the southwest at dusk as it follows the path of the last sunsets of the old year and the first sunsets of the New Year. Mercury’s appearance is fleeting both in the number of days it is visible and the short time it can be seen before setting – within about an hour after sunset. Three of the brightest stars in the sky guide us to Mercury. They are the corner stars of the Summer Triangle: Vega with Deneb above in the northwest and Altair due west point down and left to Mercury in the southwest. The Summer Triangle, a remnant of warm weather skies, is poised to set in the west as winter’s familiar constellations rise above the opposite horizon.
Turn to the east-southeast at nightfall, about two hours after sunset, to be swept up by the beauty of the Winter Circle, which travels the sky all night. Orion the Hunter is stretched out in the center of the Winter Circle of bright stars, also known as the Winter Hexagon. The center point of the circle is reddish Betelgeuse, the Hunter’s bright shoulder star, which is above Orion’s belt, composed of three stars in a row. Beginning with Procyon, out to the left of Orion, climb up to Pollux and then to nearly twin star Castor. Look right and up to brilliant, golden Capella before dropping down to red Aldebaran and, further, to Orion’s foot star, blue-white Rigel. Complete the circle with the brightest of all stars in Earth’s sky, bluish Sirius, below and left of Rigel. Sirius is last to rise above the southeast horizon, 7:11 p.m. tonight and 6:20 p.m. on the 10th.
Wake up to four naked eye planets – with celebrity stars and the moon — before dawn. It is blissful to be a part of the planetary scene during the darkest mornings of the year. From December 30 – January 10 sunrise is at 7:22 a.m., the latest sun ups of the year. Be outdoors by 6:15 to see planets Saturn, Venus, Mars and Jupiter line up on a diagonal above the skyline from southeast to south. Venus, Jupiter and the moon are visible until about 7 o’clock.=
The Quadrantid meteor shower, cosmic fireworks for Earthlings celebrating the holiday season, is active from today, December 28, through January 12. The shower peaks before dawn on Monday, January 4. Arrive at a dark sky location anytime between midnight and 4 a.m. – 5 a.m. to be treated to 50 – 120 shooting stars per hour.
NEWS FROM NASA, NOAA:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellite and Information Service Deep Space Climate Observatory DSCOVR https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/DSCOVR/
NASA and NOAA EPIC Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera https://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/
