December StarDial
Jehana Silverwing

Tue Dec  1 22:04:07 1998
December 1998 ce StarDial*p*  Dec 02 - Mercury at perihelion*br*  Dec 02 - Moon at perigee (closest point to Earth in this cycle) at 7:18 am, EST*p*  Dec 03 - Moon passes 0.6 degrees north of Aldebaran, 8 am EST. (Eastern Standard Time)*br*  Dec 03 - Full Moon at 10:19 am EST.*br*  Dec 03 - Jehana celebrates another birthday; another circuit around the Sun.*p*  Dec 04 - Asteroid 1866 Sisypus near-Earth flyby (0.338 AU - astronomical units)*br*  Dec 04 - Venus should start becoming visible in the west/southwest shortly after sunset from this date on thru its cycle.*p*  Dec 06 - Asteroid 3362 Khufu near-Earth flyby (0.364 AU)*br*  Dec 06 - Anniversary:  The atmosphere of Venus is detected for the first time in 1882.*p*  Dec 09 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Pioneer Venus 2 landing on Venus*br*  Dec 09 - Moon passes 0.01 degess south of Regulus at 1 am, EST.*p*  Dec 10 - Moon at last quarter at 12:53 pm, EST.*br*  Dec 10 - Good early morning viewing before sunrise in the east for Mercury for the next two weeks.*p*  Dec 12 - Asteroid 7480 Norwan near-Earth flyby (0.360 AU)*br*  Dec 12 - Moon passes 1.8 degrees north of Mars at 3 am, EST.*br*  Dec 12 - Some Geminid meteors may be visible.*p*  Dec 13 - Geminid meteor shower peaks.  View them shooting from the east in the evening, from the high south in the wee hours.*p*  Dec 14 - Moon at apogee (farthest point from Earth) at 12:05 EST.*p*  Dec 16 - Mars is at aphelion (farthrest point from Sun) at 5 pm EST.*br*  Dec 16 - Moon passes 3 degrees north of Mercury at 7 pm EST.*br*  *br*  Dec 17 - 95th Anniversary (1903), Wright Brothers' 1st airplane flight*p*  Dec 18 - Dark Moon at 5:42 pm, EST.*br*  Dec 18 - 40th Anniversary (1958), Score Launch (1st telecommunication satellite)*p*  Dec 19 - Mercury is at its greatest western elogation at 11 pm, EST (22 degrees from the Sun).*p*  Dec 20 - Asteroid 3352 McAuliffe near-Earth flyby (0.396 AU)*br*  Dec 20 - 1st Day Of Ramadan*p*  Dec 22 - Winter Solstice, 01:56 UT (or, 8:56 pm EST on the 21st)*br*  Dec 22 - Ursid Meteor Shower -- not as promising as the Geminids.  Look to the north.*p*  Dec 25 - Moon passes 1.2 degrees south of Jupiter at 6 am, EST.*p*  Dec 26 - Moon at First Quarter at 5:46 am EST.*p*  Dec 27 - Moon passes 2 degrees south of Saturn at 6 pm EST.*p*  Dec 30 - Moon at perigee at 12:49 pm EST.*br*  Dec 30 - Moon passes 0.6 degrees north of Aldebaran at 6 pm, EST.   *p*  Dec 31 - Leap Second Added To World's Clocks*p*And, mark your calendars now!!! ~*p**br*December 31, 2233  Total Solar Eclipse of December 31, 2233 will be visible*br*on New Years day, January 1, 2234 for the West Pacific.*p*December 31, 2252  Total Solar Eclipse of December 31, 2252 will be visible*br*on New Years day, January 1, 2253 for the West Pacific.*p*********br*Sources:  Astronomy Magazine, Space Calendar, Solar Eclipse Calendar, Mother Earth News.*br*