Speaker 1: You are listening to the Doctor Sky Experience here on
Speaker 1: the iconic radio station Talk Radio seventy seven WABC out
Speaker 1: of New York City, around the world with our weekly
Speaker 1: Sky ump date. Welcome to the month of December, as
Speaker 1: we introduce to you the Doctor Sky Sky Experience, episode
Speaker 1: number eight. As we talk about the great things that
Speaker 1: you can see, not only in the subjects of astronomy, space,
Speaker 1: aviation and weather. You can continue to get in touch
Speaker 1: with me by sending me an email at my email base,
Speaker 1: Doctor Sky shown at gmail dot com. As we move
Speaker 1: into month number twelve, we begin at the Moon, Earth's
Speaker 1: nearestn We find out that the Artemis Won spacecraft successfully
Speaker 1: launching onto an orbit around the Moon. The Orion spacecraft.
Speaker 1: It is now performing flawlessly. It is moving on to
Speaker 1: a high retrograde orbit about forty thousand miles above the Moon,
Speaker 1: and it swung back over the surface of the Moon,
Speaker 1: taking great video and pictures some eighty miles above the
Speaker 1: lunar surface. But once again swing around the Moon and
Speaker 1: fire A, burn its engines and return to the Earth
Speaker 1: and a splashed down. As we move into the month
Speaker 1: of December, but here for visual astronomy, we find out
Speaker 1: that the moon, as December opens up, has just passed
Speaker 1: first quarter. It now becomes a waxing gibbous moon looks
Speaker 1: egg shaped in the sky, and it moves on officially
Speaker 1: to the next full moon of December on the seventh,
Speaker 1: known as the full cold or long night moon. On
Speaker 1: that night, the seventh of December, and we'll talk more
Speaker 1: about it next week. For a good portion of the
Speaker 1: WABC listening audience, the moon will do something unusual. It
Speaker 1: will occult or eclipse the bright planet Mars, as Mars
Speaker 1: is getting close to the Earth, and that will be
Speaker 1: a sight for a good portion of the United States,
Speaker 1: but details to fall. The moon then moves on is
Speaker 1: a waning moon, moving on to last quarter by the
Speaker 1: sixteenth of December, and then a very thin sliver of moonlight,
Speaker 1: as we call it the waning Cristal moon, only to
Speaker 1: move on to the new phase of the darker the
Speaker 1: moon and the twenty third just in time for the
Speaker 1: Christmas and Honiko holidays. The moon then on the evening
Speaker 1: of Christmas night, if you look low into the southwest,
Speaker 1: a thin sliver of moonlight continues to wax, and once
Speaker 1: again we return the first quarter what about planets for
Speaker 1: the month of December, while we get two new editions.
Speaker 1: In the evening sky, look for Mercury very low into
Speaker 1: the southwest just after sunset. By the twenty first of December,
Speaker 1: when it's some twenty degrees away from the setting sun.
Speaker 1: We also find Venus that got us of love and
Speaker 1: beauty also to be moving into the evening sky. And
Speaker 1: there are many stories which will be talking about in
Speaker 1: future Doctor Sky Experienced Sky Update episodes. What was the
Speaker 1: magic of the Christmas Star and the Star of Bethlehem.
Speaker 1: Many believe it was a conjunction of planets and not
Speaker 1: necessarily a supernova, but who knows, maybe it just simply
Speaker 1: was a miracle. As you continue to look in the
Speaker 1: sky for the planetary parade. High in the south at
Speaker 1: sunset is Saturn best in the telescope. Jupiter is still
Speaker 1: extremely bright as you look high up into the east.
Speaker 1: But the real show stopper in December has to be,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, the planet Mars gets closer to the
Speaker 1: Earth or in the first few days of December at
Speaker 1: a distance which may seem incredible. Of a close fifty
Speaker 1: million miles from the Earth that's close by Mars standards.
Speaker 1: In a telescope, Mars will look even more spectacular, as
Speaker 1: you'll see surface features on the planet in a larger
Speaker 1: telescope than say, six inches in diameter, magnifying at about
Speaker 1: two hundred times what the IE sees. You'll also get
Speaker 1: to see the North Polar Cap and the North Polar Hood,
Speaker 1: which is made up of a lot of ice particles,
Speaker 1: and who knows what else, but easily visible in the telescope.
Speaker 1: Mars is in the center of its retrograde orbit, easy
Speaker 1: to see high in the constellation of Taurres, and on
Speaker 1: the eighth of December, Mars comes to opposition, meaning it's
Speaker 1: in the sky from sunset to sunrise. Don't miss it.
Speaker 1: As we continue to talk about so many wonderful things
Speaker 1: in the sky, let me remind each and every one
Speaker 1: of you here that if you'd like to send me
Speaker 1: an email at simply Doctor Sky's Show drsky Show at
Speaker 1: gmail dot com. As we welcome in on number twelve,
Speaker 1: the beginning of the winter solstice on the twenty first,
Speaker 1: we have some other additional information to purport to you today.
Speaker 1: Another of the great meteor showers peak on the morning
Speaker 1: hours of the thirteenth and the fourteenth. It's called the Geminids.
Speaker 1: Look high up to the northeast sky. If you have
Speaker 1: a clear sky, the moon might interfere a bit, but
Speaker 1: this is considered by many to be one of the
Speaker 1: better meteor showers of the year. For slow and fast
Speaker 1: moving fireballs all thought to come to an extinct comet
Speaker 1: or an asteroid, a rubble pile coon comet with lots
Speaker 1: of debriy. Doctor Sky reminds you to always remember to
Speaker 1: keep your eyes to the skies, as I'm your navigator
Speaker 1: on the highway to the heavens, and we'll see you
Speaker 1: with Frank Morano on the Other Side of Midnight and
Speaker 1: John Katzimatidis on his g show Cats at Night till
Speaker 1: off the month of December and beyond. Wishing you the
Speaker 1: best of the happiest of holidays, Happy Hanic, a merry Christmas,
Speaker 1: and a healthy and prosperous twenty twenty three. I'm doctor
Speaker 1: Scott