December 2014 Celestial Sky highlights
December 5th: Observers in the Americas can see Aldebaran very close to the almost-full Moon. Binoculars may also show some of the bright Hyades stars.
December 11-12: DAWN: The waning gibbous Moon passes below Jupiter halfway up the southwestern sky.
December 13-14: ALL NIGHT: The Geminid meteor shower peaks this night. The best viewing will probably occur shortly before the last-quarter Moon rises around midnight.
December 15: EVENING: Algol shines at minimum brightness for roughly two hours centered at 10:22 p.m. EST.
December 18: EVENING: Algol shines at minimum brightness for roughly two hours centered at 7:12 p.m. EST.
December 21: THE LONGEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR: in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter begins at at the solstice, at 6:03 p.m. EST.
December 22: DUSK: An extremely thin crescent Moon floats to the right of Venus very low in the west-southwest shortly after sunset. This is a challenging observation; bring binoculars.
December 23: DUSK: Look for Venus well below the Moon.
December 24: EVENING: Mars shines to the left of the waxing crescent Moon.
December 28: LATE EVENING: Uranus is very close to the Moon, with an occultation visible in Japan and parts of the Arctic.
