By Duncan Lunan

The Moon will be New on December 7^th, and Full on December 22^nd  (just after the winter solstice), shortly after its passage through the Hyades cluster in Taurus on the night of the 20^th/21^st.

The planet Mercury is in the morning sky, and reaches greatest elongation from the Sun on the 15^th.  Mercury will be near the Moon on the 5^th, and Mercury and Jupiter will be less than a degree apart on the 21^st and 22^nd.  Europe’s Bepicolombo probe to Mercury, named after the pioneer of interplanetary slingshot navigation, was launched on October 20^th and is now on its way, though it will be seven years before it arrives.

Venus is bright in the morning sky, rising 4 hours before the Sun at the start of December and near the Moon on the 3^rd, but drawing closer to the Sun as it moves from Virgo into Libra.

Mars moves from Aquarius to Pisces and sets around 11 p.m., growing fainter.   The latest US Mars mission, Insight, landed on November 26^th and will attempt to sink a probe into the soil to measure heat flow from the interior of the planet, as well as listening for ‘Marsquakes’.  Mars is near Neptune on the 8^th, and the Moon is near Mars on the 14^th.

Jupiter is back in the morning sky, moving from Scorpius into Ophiucus, below Mercury at the start of the month and closest to it on the 21^st.   The waning crescent Moon is near Jupiter on the 6^th.

Saturn in Sagittarius sets around 5.00 p.m., and disappears as December goes on.   The young crescent Moon is near Saturn on the 8^th and 9^th.

Uranus moves from Aries to Pisces late in December, setting around 3 a.m..

Neptune in Aquarius sets about 11 p.m., and is quarter of a degree below Mars on the 8^th.

Comet Wirtanen will be visible to the naked eye during December, though fainter than the stars of the Plough throughout.   At its closest it will be 12 million km from Earth on the 16^th, when it will be next to the Pleiades in Taurus, and it passes close to Capella in Auriga on the 23^rd.

The Andromedid meteor shower peaks on the evening of 6^th/7^th December.   It may be particularly active if we cross a stream of dust from the parent Biela’s Comet when it passed the Sun in 1649, and if so it will be well seen because it precedes the New Moon on the 7^th.   The regular Geminid meteor shower from the asteroid Phaeton peaks over the 11^th/12^th  and will be best seen after the Moon goes down at 10 p.m..

As the Astronomers of the Future Club in Troon normally meets on the last Thursday of the month, as usual there will be no formal meeting in December, but instead there will be a social night on Sunday 16^th.  For details contact Club Treasurer Duncan Lunan on 01292-864764.

“Starfield, science fiction by Scottish writers”, edited by Duncan Lunan, is available from the publishers at https://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/product/starfield. Duncan’s recent books “Children from the Sky”, “The Stones and the Stars”, “Incoming Asteroid!” and “The Elements of Time” are available from the publishers, on Amazon or through booksellers;  details are on Duncan’s website, www.duncanlunan.com