182Officially, winter begins on
Monday, December 20, but
don’t let that get you down.
There are still a lot of good
outdoor activities to warm
your limbs and help your heart
and soul.
If you have been following
the slow rise of Orion
throughout November during
your after-dinner walkabouts,
the approach of the full moon
is a temporary distraction. At
the beginning of the month,
it is centred between three
major winter constellations—
Auriga (the charioteer, above),
Gemini (Twins, to the left) and
Orion (the hunter, down to the
right)—but it will quickly move
into the morning sky. Notice
how many stars you can see
with, and without, the moon
to appreciate its impact on the
n i g ht sk y.
If you have been watching
the planets Saturn and Jupiter
for the last year, you will have
noticed they are doing a
dance: approaching and
departing. On the 20th, they
almost become one, about
1/8 degree apart, at 5 p.m. Some
authors have written that the
Star of Bethlehem might have
been the conjunction of two
bright planets. Regardless of
whether it is true, how does it
look to you?
DECEMBER
Day of MonthDay of WeekBegin Civil Twilight (h:m)Sunrise Time (h:m)Az. (Deg.)Transit Time (h:m)Az. (Deg.)Sunset Time (h:m)Az. (Deg.)
1 Tue 6:49 7:23 121 11:52 23S 16:21 239
2 Wed 6:50 7:24 121 11:52 23S 16:21 239
3 Thu 6:51 7:25 122 11:53 22S 16:20 238
4 Fri 6:52 7:26 122 11:53 22S 16:20 238
5 Sat 6:53 7:27 122 11:54 22S 16:20 238
6 Sun 6:54 7:28 122 11:54 22S 16:20 238
7 Mon 6:55 7:29 122 11:54 22S 16:20 238
8 Tue 6:56 7:30 122 11:55 22S 16:20 237
9 Wed 6:57 7:31 123 11:55 22S 16:20 237
10 Thu 6:58 7:32 123 11:56 22S 16:20 237
11 Fri 6:59 7:33 123 11:56 22S 16:20 237
12 Sat 7:007:34 123 11:57 21S 16:20 237
13 Sun 7:007:35 123 11:57 21S 16:20 237
14 Mon 7:017:35 123 11:58 21S 16:20 237
15 Tue 7:027:36 123 11:58 21S 16:20 237
16 Wed 7:037:37 123 11:59 21S 16:21 237
17 Thu 7:037:37 123 11:59 21S 16:21 237
18 Fri 7:047:38 12312:00 21S 16:21 237
19 Sat 7:047:39 12312:00 21S 16:22 237
20 Sun 7:057:39 12312:01 21S 16:22 236
21 Mon 7:067:40 124 12:01 21S 16:23236
22 Tue 7:067:40 12312:02 21S 16:23 237
23 Wed 7:067:41 12312:02 21S 16:24 237
24 Thu 7:07 7:41 12312:03 21S 16:24 237
25 Fri 7:07 7:41 12312:03 21S 16:25 237
26 Sat 7:087:42 12312:04 21S 16:26 237
27 Sun 7:087:42 12312:04 21S 16:26 237
28 Mon 7:087:42 12312:05 21S 16:27 237
29 Tue 7:087:42 12312:05 21S 16:28 237
30 Wed 7:087:42 12312:06 22S 16:29 237
31 Thu 7:097:43 12312:06 22S 16:30 237