December 2022
On & Off Earth
After a November that started like late September, quickly shifted to a January-like deep freeze and wrapped with average November readings I’m thinking all bets are off for weather forecasts for December. We do know that December will be mostly dark, less than 10 hours of daylight every day. Early December always has the earliest sunsets of the year; plan outdoor excursions accordingly.
The light of the waxing moon and the lack of leaves leads me to pushing the darkness envelope for my last walk of the day. That extra light will be most available the first and last weeks of the month. On the 1st, the just past first quarter moon will make its monthly slide by of Jupiter(and again on the 28th). From there the moon rides the ecliptic toward a rare Full moon encounter with Mars.
That encounter happens on the 7th, Pearl Harbor Day, the day of the actual earliest sunset and with the Long Night or Cold Full moon. In the western United States, the moon will actually occult, or block, the Red Planet from view for a brief span. Here on the east coast, Mars will slide by, ever so close to the moon, appearing to almost graze the lunar surface.
The moon and planet will rise together at sunset (by definition, the Full moon, opposite the sun, can only rise at sunset; we spin away from the sun and toward the moon). Mars will be the rusty red “star” lower left of the moon but the moon, moving faster, will sneak closer and closer. The closest will be (about) 10:46pm but it will be fun to check on throughout the evening as the two draw near. Binoculars or any scope will make it an eye treat you will long remember. As always in Virginia, hope for clear skies.
Though limited, daylight hours in December reveal a planet long hidden by the leafy green of summer and the brilliant colors of fall. While the muted browns and grays of tree trunks and fallen leaves dominate, the open views now reveal the namesake, Forest Green, of the pines, cedars and hollies. Mosses on my trails, colorful berries now visible and the ever changing shades of our sky are more than enough color to get me out every day.
We will never know how far back into human history we would need to go to find out when an ancestor first marked the sun standing still at the Winter Solstice, the end to our astronomical year and the start of the Winter season; this year, on the 21st at 4:48pm. As the season of cold and dark, knowing the life giving sun would begin working its way back north was of paramount importance. It is still nice to see the days, ever so slowly, grow longer.
However you and your family and friends celebrate the holidays at year’s end, I wish you good health and happiness. Challenges remain for our country and world but goodness is also not hard to find and it’s always easy to share.
A final December sky treat, on Christmas Eve…20 minutes after sunset, low in the southwest, catch a thin, thin crescent moon with Mercury and bright Venus, beginning its return as the Evening Star.
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