Ursa Major - Blog Posts

What's Up - December 2017

What’s Up For December? Geminid and Ursid meteor showers & winter constellations!

This month hosts the best meteor shower of the year and the brightest stars in familiar constellations.

The Geminds peak on the morning of the 14th, and are active from December 4th through the 17th. The peak lasts for a full 24 hours, meaning more worldwide meteor watchers will get to see this spectacle.

Expect to see  up to 120 meteors per hour between midnight and 4 a.m. but only from a dark sky. You'll see fewer after moonrise at 3:30 a.m. local time.

In the southern hemisphere, you won't see as many, perhaps 10-20 per hour, because the radiant never rises above the horizon.

Take a moment to enjoy the circle of constellations and their brightest stars around Gemini this month.

Find yellow Capella in the constellation Auriga. 

Next-going clockwise--at 1 o'clock find Taurus and bright reddish Aldebaran, plus the Pleiades. 

At two, familiar Orion, with red Betelguese, blue-white Rigel, and the three famous belt stars in-between the two.   

Next comes Leo, and its white lionhearted star, Regulus at 7 o'clock.

Another familiar constellation Ursa Major completes the view at 9 o'clock.

There's a second meteor shower in December, the Ursids, radiating from Ursa Minor, the Little Dipper. If December 22nd  and the morning of December 23rd are clear where you are, have a look at the Little Dipper's bowl, and you might see about ten meteors per hour. Watch the full What’s Up for December Video: 

There are so many sights to see in the sky. To stay informed, subscribe to our What’s Up video series on Facebook. Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.   

»Look,« I say, »There's Venus, the evening star, named after the godess of love and beauty, because in the night everything can be pretty.«

You don't answer, you don't even look up from the ground where you've been pulling out blades of grass.

»See,« I say, after some time of you staring at the ground and me staring at the sky, »There's Ursa Major, a polar bear to guide us on our way.«

This time you let out a little »hmmp« sound, but you continue your activity of strewing grass over your legs.

»From there,« I say, after I've waited for you to say something, anything, »You can find Ursa Minor, with the North star to protect us.«

Now you sigh very silently, maybe you're tired or bored.

»Over there,« I say, pointing into the sky, »Is Orion, the hunter, to bring clarity to our journey.«

You hum under your breath, examining a leave with more interest than you've ever showed me.

»And this,« I say, one last attempt to talk to you, »Is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, resident in Canis Major, to help us-«

Before I can end my sentence, you get up from the ground brushing the grass from your trousers, and all I can do is watch your silhouette against the night sky, as you wander away from me.

I don't see you often in the following months, and now youre looking at the sky, now that I can't see it through the ground.

everyones a space gay but do you have a favorite star, constellation or other astronomigcal object? personally i always feel anchored when i'm out at night and can locate the pleiades :)