12345
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
SUN. MON. TUES. WED. THURS. FRI. SAT.
`
`
`
b
¡
c
d
+
c
¡
a
i
d
e
`
d
_ a
a
a
a
a
r
`
_
_
_
b b
_
_
_
`
_
`
a
_
LACERT
A
DRAC
O
LY R A
SAGITTA
VULPECULA
DELPHINUS
EQUULEUS
QUARIUS
CYGNUS
PISCIS
AUSTRINUS
PEGASUS
TOR
AQUILA
CAPRICORNUS
M57
Vega
M27
M15
Enif
Deneb
Fomalhaut
Altair
Path of the Sun (
ecliptic)
WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 39
Open cluster
Globular cluster
Diffuse nebula
Planetary nebula
Galaxy
W
NW
SW
MAP SYMBOLS
Note: Moon phases in the calendar vary
in size due to the distance from Earth
DECEMBER 2015and are shown at 0h Universal Time.
Calendar of events
3 Last Quarter Moon
occurs at 2:40 A.M. EST
4 The Moon passes 1.8° south of
Jupiter, 1 A.M. EST
5 The Moon is at apogee (251,531
miles from Earth), 9:56 A.M. EST
The Moon passes 0.1° south of
Mars, 10 P.M. EST
7 The Moon passes 0.7° north of
Venus, noon EST
9 Asteroid Psyche is at
opposition, 9 A.M. EST
11 New Moon occurs at
5:29 A.M. EST
17 The Moon passes 3° north of
Neptune, 3 A.M. EST
18 First Quarter Moon
occurs at 10:14 A.M. EST
19 The Moon passes 1.2° south of
Uranus, 8 P.M. EST
21 The Moon is at perigee
(228,924 miles from Earth),
4:00 A.M. EST
Mars passes 4° north of Spica,
7 A.M. EST
Winter solstice occurs at
11: 4 8 P.M. EST
23 The Moon passes 0.7° north of
Aldebaran, 3 P.M. EST
24 Asteroid Euterpe is at
opposition, midnight EST
25 Full Moon occurs at
6:11 A.M. EST
26 Uranus is stationary, 6 A.M. EST
28 Mercury is at greatest eastern
elongation (20°), 10 P.M. EST
31 The Moon passes 1.5° south of
Jupiter, 1 P.M. EST
SPECIAL OBSERVING DATE
14 The annual Geminid
meteor shower peaks
under a Moon-free sky.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
ASTRONOMY
: ROEN KELLY
BEGINNERS: WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT HOW TO READ A STAR CHART AT http://www.Astronomy.com/starchart.