MARSHALL'S NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK - December 9th to December 15th
We are proud to present you with another edition of Marshall's night sky events this week! Welcome, we hope you find something of interest! Let us know in the replies if you did, we would love to hear about it! We have also started a look back at events this week in history and listed the brightest Asteroids. Hope you enjoy the new segments.
Let's get started by examining the highlights of the night sky this week, December 9th to December 15th. As usual we will list the highlights and discuss a few. We hope you find this info useful and if you have anything you wish to discuss or add, please hit the "Reply" button below and let us know!
Information is freely gathered from various websites. We would encourage you to download and print your finder charts more specific to your location, the charts/graphics included are for basic guidance only. Many websites like Skymaps.com will allow you to download and print out a free planisphere for each month, the link is here: https://www.skymaps.com/.
EVENTS
9th December
Neptune is 0.8* south of the Moon at 09:00 UTC.
Io, shadow and GRS Transit Jupiter at 05:20 UTC.
Europa, shadow and GRS Transit Jupiter at 16:40 UTC.
10th December
Io, shadow and GRS Transit Jupiter at 22:30 UTC.
11th December
12th December
Moon at perigee (365361 km) at 13:00 UTC.
13th December
Uranus is 4° south of the Moon at 10:00 UTC.
Moon is in the Pleiades (M45) at 18:00 UTC. Visible early evening in Europe and visible all the way east to a line from SE Asia down to Western Australia in the pre-dawn. Moon is still approaching as the moon sets from eastern Australia and Western Pacific longitudes.
14th December
Jupiter is 5° south of the Moon at 20:00 UTC.
Geminids meteor shower peaks at 01:00 UTC. Interference from a full Moon at peak makes this years shower very difficult to observe.
15th December
Full Moon at 09:02 UTC.
Io, shadow and GRS all Transit across Jupiter together at 06:00 UTC (16th).
PLANETS
Mercury
Mercury is too close to our star to be seen during the first half of this month, but finally emerges during the second half, making for decent evening viewing for those in the Northern hemisphere. It reaches greatest elongation on the 25th and will be 22* west of the Sun.
Venus
Venus continues to extend out from the Sun. For Northern observers, it continues to go back up the ecliptic.
Mars
Mars is in Cancer all month, and begins retrograde from the 7th of this month to the 16th of January where it reaches opposition.
Reaching -1.0 mag and going to 14" disc, it's one of the best times to view Mars!
Jupiter
Jupiter reaches opposition on the 7th, with a 48.2" disc. Visible all throughout December amongst the stars of Taurus.
Saturn
Saturn shines throughout the month in Aquarius at first magnitude. The rings will appear to open a bit, due to the difference between our planets inclination in relation to Saturn.
Uranus
Uranus is past opposition; it's retrograde motion takes it from the border of Taurus into Aries going into the end of the month.
Neptune
Very viewable through a telescope in the evening hours in the constellation of Pisces in the south-western evening sky.
COMETS AND ASTEROIDS
Two Comets brighter than Magnitude 10 this week.
C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)
Magnitude: 9.1 (Observed - COBS) trending_up
Coma Diameter: 1.7' Tail Length: n/a
Observation Date: 2024-12-06
J2000: 16h 10m 06s -39° 26’ 31” in Scorpius
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Magnitude: 9.5 (Observed - COBS) trending_down
Coma Diameter: 1.7' Tail Length: 14.0'
Observation Date: 2024-12-06
J2000: 19h 16m 11s +04° 45’ 56” in Aquila
Four Asteroids brighter than Magnitude 10 this week. Data from In-the-sky.org.
4 Vesta
Magnitude: 8.0 trending_up
J2000: 13h 17m 41s -01° 51’ 07” in Virgo
15 Eunomia
Magnitude: 8.2 trending_up
J2000: 05h 31m 25s +34° 28’ 44” in Auriga
1 Ceres
Magnitude: 9.3 trending_flat
J2000: 20h 14m 18s -27° 02’ 55” in Capricornus
7 Iris
Magnitude: 9.9 trending_flat
J2000: 21h 50m 33s -07° 26’ 55” in Aquarius
STARS
Zeta Herculis - An unequal binary pair with a highly eccentric 35 year orbit. Currently at maximum separation. Zeta Herculis is the star at the bottom right of the Hercules keystone asterism.
Sirius - Have you ever tried for Sirius B? Sirius A and B are now at their widest apparent separation in their 50-year orbit, 11 arcseconds apart, and will remain so for the next couple years before they start closing up again. If you can block it out of your FOV you might have a shot at open cluster Gaia 1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_1)
T Coronae Borealis - A star system, located 3,000 light-years away from Earth, is predicted to become visible to the unaided eye soon. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity as the nova outburst only occurs about every 80 years. Now a challenging evening target on the Western horizon after Sunset, still visible above 10° for a couple of hours from Northern locations. T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946 and astronomers believe it will do so again in 2024. Once in a lifetime event! Plan ahead just in case! Full article here. The TSS TCrB Citizen Science Thread is here.
SPACE LAUNCHES
December 8 Falcon 9 • Starlink 12-5
Launch time: 12:10 a.m. EST (0510 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth obit. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the booster will land on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
December 12 Falcon 9 • Starlink 11-2
Launch time: 11:33 a.m. PST (2:33 p.m. EST, 1933 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will land on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’
December 12 Falcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 7&8
Launch time: Window opens at 3:55 p.m. EST (2055 UTC)
Launch site: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the fourth pair of O3b mPOWER satellites to a medium Earth orbit on behalf of Luxembourg-based SES. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will land on a droneship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
We highly recommend using "Spot the Station" from NASA to find out when the International Space station will be passing over your location. This is a fun object to see flying high above, try using binoculars here, lots of fun!
For the HAM radio enthusiasts among you, please keep a eye on the ARISS website for upcoming contacts or SSTV broadcasts for when the International Space Station is within range. There are several HAMS on board the ISS, they should have a busy radio schedule coming up. AMSAT are another great resource in this regard.
This video is from the ISS live feed on YouTube. Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
December 9
47 years ago, in 1978, all 5 probes from the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe reach Venus and enter the atmosphere.
22 years ago, in 2003, last contact is made with the Japanese Mars probe, Nozomi.
19 years ago, in 2006, the shuttle Discovery (STS-116) launches, bringing the P5 truss segment to the ISS.
December 10
62 years ago, in 1963, after 6 years (and US$660 million), the Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar program is cancelled.
51 years ago, in 1974, Helios-A (Helios 1) is launched to study the solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, and flies to within 47 million km of the Sun.
26 years ago, in 1999, ESA's X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) is launched.
19 years ago, in 2006, on board the shuttle Discovery (STS-116), Christer Fuglesang becomes the first Swedish citizen to visit space.
8 years ago, in 2017, on board a Long March 3B rocket, Alcomsat-1 becomes the first Algerian geostationary communications satellite.
8 years ago, in 2017, Earth is viewed by the Kepler space telescope after the spacecraft adjusts its telescope to a new field of view.
December 11
54 years ago, in 1971, Ariel 4, a British ionospheric research satellite, is successfully launched.
53 years ago, in 1972, Apollo 17 lands on the moon.
37 years ago, in 1988, Astra 1A becomes the first satellite to be launched and operated by the SES (Societe Europeenne des Satellites).
December 12
64 years ago, in 1961, OSCAR 1, the first amateur radio satellite, is launched.
55 years ago, in 1970, the Uhuru X-ray Explorer Satellite (SAS 1) is launched.
December 13
67 years ago, in 1958, A Jupiter IRBM is launched with a South American squirrel monkey named Gordo on board, but the parachute fails to open and Gordo and the craft are lost at sea.
63 years ago, in 1962, Relay 1, an experimental communications satellite, is launched.
58 years ago, in 1967, Pioneer 8 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
13 years ago, in 2012, Chang'e 2, an unmanned Chinese lunar probe, makes its closest approach to the asteroid 4179 Toutatis.
December 14
63 years ago, in 1962, Mariner 2 flies by Venus, becoming the first successful mission to another planet.
49 years ago, in 1976, the Viking 1 orbiter extended mission begins.
35 years ago, in 1990, the Canadian Space Agency Act is passed by the Government of Canada.
32 years ago, in 1993, Landsat 4 ends its science operations after failing to transmit data.
24 years ago, in 2001, the Yohkoh (Solar-A) Solar Observatory goes into safehold mode during an annular eclipse, losing its lock on the Sun.
19 years ago, in 2006, the U.S. military reconnaissance satellite, USA-193, becomes the first launch for United Launch Alliance, but the satellite malfunctions soon after deployment.
16 years ago, in 2009, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is launched to study faint objects in space.
12 years ago, in 2013, Chang'e 3 successfully has a soft landing on the Moon; the first since the Soviet Union's Luna 24.
December 15
234 years ago, in 1791, Caroline Herschel discovers her fifth comet, Comet C/1791 X1 (Herschel).
65 years ago, in 1960, Pioneer P-31 (atlas-Able 5B, Pioneer Z) is launched for a lunar orbit, but the mission fails due to the third stage breaking up.
61 years ago, in 1964, the first Italian satellite, San Marco 1, is successfully launched.
60 years ago, in 1965, Gemini VI-A is launched; completes rendezvous with Gemini VII at distances of 1 to 300 feet.
59 years ago, in 1966, Audouin Dollfus discovers one of Saturn's moons, Janus.
55 years ago, in 1970, Venera 7 becomes the first craft to make a soft landing on Venus, returning 23 minutes of data.
41 years ago, in 1984, the Soviet Vega 1 probe is launched to release a balloon and lander on Venus, then continue on to Halley's Comet.
15 years ago, in 2010, Mars Odyssey breaks the record for longest lived spacecraft at Mars (3340 days).
And that is it for the upcoming week. We hope you can all get out and do some observing, sketching and imaging.
Clear skies!
The TSS Team.
