... Since moonshine is really reflected sunlight, the full Moon is on the average slightly brighter in mid-winter, when Earth is closest to the Sun. In addition, the distance of the full Moon also varies, due to the ellipticity ("eccentricity") of the Moon's orbit. On 22 December, 1999, the two effects combined to produce the brightest full Moon of the century. ... This year will be the first full moon to occur on the winter solstice, Dec. 22nd, commonly called the first day of winter. ...

... Credit: Dan Bush ( Missouri Skies ) Explanation: If you've been outdoors near sunset, then you've probably noticed Venus low in the west as the brilliant evening star . Sometimes mistaken for a tower light near the horizon, Venus is the third brightest celestial beacon, after the Sun and Moon, in planet Earth's sky. ... As this season's evening star, Venus will be at its most brilliant tonight, but as December progresses the bright planet will begin to fall out of the western sky. ... December . ...

Astronotes Armagh Planetarium's Stellar Blog! ... Stars . ... Space Flight . ... Monthly Sky Notes . December . ... Would anyone turn down a good firework show in December? ... The Geminids meteor shower should then emerge in all its glory in the east in the constellation GeminiтАЩs patch of sky on the evening of the 13 th and early morning of the 14 th of December, with the last shooting stars visible up until the 18 th December and approximately one meteor per hour on display at that stage. ...

... The best annual meteor shower is the Geminids, which are expected to peak this year on December 13th at 18h. Some activity will persist until about Dec 15/16. Unfortunately this year's display will be spoiled by a Full Moon at maximum, but you should still see some of the brighter meteors. ... This is a live count of meteor showers based on visual data entered through the IMO electronic report form. ... Saturday, 13 December 2008 19:03 . International Year of Astronomy, Ireland National Node . ...

... Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. December 18, 1999 . Irregular Galaxy Sextans A . ... Their newly formed, bright, blue star clusters found along beautiful, symmetric spiral arms are guaranteed to attract attention. But small irregular galaxies form stars too , like this lovely, gumdrop-shaped galaxy, Sextans A . ... About APOD > . ...

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