Abstract
ON December 22d On the sun enters, at the winter solstice, the sign Capricornus; in the latitude of London the nights are then 16J hours in duration. The moon is new on December 13 at 23Jh and full on December 28d 4h U.T. At new moon an annular eclipse of the sun is visible in the antipodes (local time December 14)?the central line, along which the duration of annularity is 5J-7J min., crossing Australia and the North Island of New Zealand. Among the seven lunar occupations visible at Greenwich, the disappearance of A Tauri (mag. 4-5) may be noted on December 25 at 20h 0-9m at 120° from the north point of the moon's disk. Of the planets visible, Venus is a conspicuous object (mag. 3-6 to 3-7) setting about 19h Om in mid-December. On December 17d 17h the planet is in conjunction with the moon, below which it will be situated 6°. Mercury is not very accessible to observation, but may be seen during the last week of the year near the southwest horizon at 17h. Mars rising after midnight is in Virgo; on December 21 it passes 3° north of the bright star, Spica. Saturn, in Aquarius, sets about 23h in mid-December; on Dec. 20d 19h the planet is in conjunction with the moon, and on December 28 the sun will be in the plane of the rings, the minor axis of which is now about 2″. In addition to the planets, the skies offer at any time during a fine night in December an attractive field for observation. At 22h in the middle of the month, the constellations of Cassiopeia, Perseus, Andromeda, Taurus and Aries are near the meridian, whilst the stars of Orion, Sirius, Procyon, Castor and Pollux are south-east and eastwards. The Geminid meteor shower should be looked for on or about December 11, the radiant point being at R.A. 7h 12m: Dec. 33° N. The light variations of Algol may be observed at about December ld Oh: 3d21h: 6d 18h: 18d 5h: 21d 2h: 23d 23h: 26d 20h and 29d 17h.
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The Night Sky in December. Nature 138, 965–966 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138965e0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138965e0