Archive for December 2023

This is the Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday January 1st (New Year’s Day) and 2nd, written by Joe Slomka. The Sun sets at 4:32 PM; night falls at 6:14. Dawn breaks at 5:44 AM and ends with sunrise at 7:26. Tuesday finds Earth at Perihelion (closest to the Sun). At 7:39 PM it lies…

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Friday, December 29, through Sunday, December 31, written by Sam Salem. On Friday, Sun rises at 7:25am and sets at 4:29pm; Moon sets at 9:41am and rises at 7:00pm. For the second time this month, the moon will slide by the Beehive star cluster. This time it will…

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, December 27 and 28, written by Alan French. The Sun rises at 7:25 A.M. on Wednesday and sets at 4:28 P.M. On Thursday it rises at 7:25 and sets at 4:28. Now that we are past the Winter Solstice, and the Sun has started its…

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Friday, December 22, through Sunday, December 24, written by Sam Salem. On Friday, Sun rises at 7:23am and sets at 4:25pm; Moon sets at 2:44 am and rises at 1:15 pm. Jupiter shines to the Moon’s right at dusk on Friday and moves to its upper right later…

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, December 20 and 21, written by Alan French. The Sun rises at 7:22 A.M. on Wednesday and sets at 4:24 P.M. On Thursday it rises at 7:23 and sets at 4:24. This Thursday has 2 minutes less daylight than last Thursday. In the northern hemisphere,…

This is the Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday December 18th and 19th, written by Joe Slomka. The Sun sets at 4:23 PM; night falls at 6:06. Dawn breaks at 5:39 AM and ends with sunrise at 7:22. Monday’s Moon rises in Aquarius at 11:46 AM, by 6 PM it is 37° high in the…

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Friday, December 15, through Sunday, December 17, written by Sam Salem. On Friday, Sun rises at 7:19am and sets at 4:22pm; Moon rises at 10:11am and sets at 7:08pm. On Sunday evening, spot Saturn about 3° upper right of the Moon. The Moon is 1.3 light-seconds from us.…

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, December 13 and 14, written by Alan French. The Sun rises at 7:17 A.M. on Wednesday and sets at 4:21 P.M. On Thursday it rises at 7:18 and sets at 4:22. This Thursday has just over 6 minutes less daylight than last Thursday. The Moon…

This is the Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday December 11th and 12th, written by Joe Slomka. The Sun sets at 4:21 PM; night falls at 6:03. Dawn breaks at 5:34 AM and ends with sunrise at 7:17. Monday’s Moon is located in western Scorpius, diameter is 31 arc-seconds, only 1% illuminated, rises at 5:57…

This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Friday, December 8, through Sunday, December 10, written by Sam Salem. On Friday, Sun rises at 7:13am and sets at 4:21pm; Moon rises at 2:29am and sets at 1:42pm. Before and during dawn Saturday morning, catch the meetup in the eastern sky of Venus and the thin crescent…