Mckenna Omoruyi
Staff Reporter
The astrological calendar for 2020 has been full of interesting celestial events including many supermoons, eclipses, rare blue moons, and meteor showers. The final month of this curious year will be no different. This December has two meteor showers, a winter solstice, a planet conjunction, a full moon and even a total solar eclipse in store, depending on where you are in the world.
According to many astronomers, December 13th is when we can expect the Geminids meteor shower. This is predicted to be one of the best of the year. Beginning on the night of the 13th and the early morning of the 14th, the shower will be visible for nearly two weeks from the 4th to the 16th of December. It will be visible across the world, but the best viewing will be in the northern hemisphere. The best time for viewing is predicted to be around 2am.
One of the rarest celestial events is predicted to take place on the 14th of December. On this day, the moon will pass directly in front of the sun, forming a total solar eclipse. Unfortunately, the spectacle will only be visible for people in certain regions of the southern hemisphere. The path of totality will pass through a thin slice of south America, cutting across southern parts of Argentina and Chile. A partial eclipse will be visible from Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, and Ecuador as well as some parts of Antarctica and south-westerly parts of Africa.
The last meteor shower of the year will coincide with the Winter Solstice, peaking on December 21st. Anyone looking up to the night sky between December 17th though the 26th might also catch a Ursid meteor, commonly referred to as a shooting star. Perhaps a Christmas wish could come true.
The Winter Solstice will occur on the 21st of December bringing longer nights and shorter days. It will also welcome the Great Conjunction, which is when the two largest planets in our solar system come together in the night sky. This event will be the closest great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 395 years, with two planets coming within 0.1 degrees of each other. The rare event can be viewed by looking to the west just after sunset, where the two planets will appear to form a bright double planet.
The final full moon of the year will take place on December 30th being so close to the winter solstice, December’s full moon will be surrounded by the darkest sky of any full moon this year. Be sure to look upward this month and feast your eyes on the night sky’s wonders.
Image Credit: Josh Rangel on Unsplash
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