Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday December 9 through Sunday December 15.

The full moon for the month of December is early on the morning of Sunday the 15th, so we’ll have a waxing gibbous moon all of this week. This full moon is known as the Long Night Moon and the Moon Before Yule.

Venus is up in the southwest at sundown and is setting at 8:50 p.m. A look at Venus in even a small telescope will show that it is now only two-thirds illuminated.

Saturn is high in the south as the sky darkens after sunset and is setting at 11:45 p.m. at midweek.

Jupiter is low in the east-northeast shortly after sunset and is still visible for most of the night. Look for Jupiter near the moon on Friday night and Saturday night.

Mars is rising at 8:40 p.m. and is now about a month away from its closest approach to the Earth in mid-January.

Mercury is rising about 50 minutes before the sun in our morning skies.

The Geminids meteor shower peaks on Friday night but unfortunately this year’s shower is most active very close to the full moon. The Geminids get their name because they appear to come from the constellation Gemini and they are caused by the Earth passing through the debris of the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be an Apollo-type asteroid. With optimal conditions, this shower can produce up to 120 meteors an hour, but many will be drowned out by moonlight this year.

In space anniversaries this week, Saturday December 14 marks 15 years since the launch of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, a space telescope that mapped the sky in 4 different infrared wavelengths. After its primary mission was achieved and its coolant was depleted, it was changed to a Near Earth Object survey mission, known as NEOWISE, which scanned the sky for potentially hazardous comets and asteroids. The NEOWISE mission ended in July of this year, and the spacecraft burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere on November 1, 2024.

Public viewing on the UT campus telescopes has finished for 2024. Spring semester viewing will start in the second half of January 2025. Please check back for details on starting dates and times.

Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.