In 2024, the December solstice falls at 9:21 UTC on December 21 (3:21 a.m. CST). Long nights, short days, for the Northern Hemisphere. Short nights, long days, for our friends south of the equator. No matter where you live on Earth’s globe, the solstice is your signal to celebrate seasonal change. EarthSky’s veteran stargazers Deborah … Read more
Orion the Hunter is arguably the most recognizable constellation in the world. Orion lies on the celestial equator, making it visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Orion’s shape is easy to pick out because of its many bright stars and signature Orion’s Belt: three stars close together in a nearly straight line. Orion … Read more
The Ursid meteor shower radiates from the constellation Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear, aka the Little Dipper, and is named after it. The Little Dipper also contains the North Star, Polaris. So for the Northern Hemisphere, the radiant is above the horizon all night long. Chart via EarthSky. This low-key meteor shower – which always … Read more
The U.S. Space Force celebrates its fifth anniversary today. The service was formally established on Dec. 20, 2019, when President Donald Trump signed it into law with the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that allocates U.S. military spending each year. Since then, the U.S. Space Force has grown to nearly 15,000 servicemembers and civilian … Read more
I’m at a loss for words. These poor people in Mayotte had so little to begin with, and Cyclone Chido has left them with almost nothing. It’s now a race against time to find casualties/victims…#CycloneChido #Mayotte pic.twitter.com/BldcoVqIDx — Volcaholic ? (@volcaholic1) December 16, 2024 Cyclone Chido devastated the French island of Mayotte, between Madagascar and … Read more
Friday, December 20Now that the evening sky is Moon-free, it’s time to aim for fainter targets, including 12th-magnitude Comet 333P/LINEAR. Located in far northern Cygnus, close to where that constellation’s border meets those of Cepheus and Draco, LINEAR sits some 8.4° northeast of magnitude 3.8 Kappa (κ) Cygni tonight. The comet is roughly halfway along … Read more
Sundial at Adler Planetarium in Chicago. A sundial can be used to measure the interval from one solar noon to the next. Earth’s longest days, from noon to noon, happen in December. Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). What is a day? You might casually talk about a day as a period of daylight. … Read more
We have our best views of Mars only once every 2 years. And that time is fast approaching! Watch a replay of our livestream for more information about Mars. Mars can appear bright or faint in our sky. 2024 has been mostly a faint year, but Mars has been steadily brightening, and it’s very noticeable … Read more
Every year, you can ring in the new year by going out at midnight and finding the dazzling star Sirius, sometimes called the New Year’s Star. In 2025, Sirius will be joined by the bright planets Jupiter and Mars. And of course, the bright constellation Orion the Hunter makes them easy to find. You can’t … Read more
For the latest on Parker Solar Probe, watch the livestream above at 12:15 CST (18:15 UTC) on Friday, December 20, 2024, with EarthSky founder Deborah Byrd and heliophysicist C. Alex Young of NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, co-author of EarthSky’s daily sun news update. Join us in marveling at a spacecraft that can touch the sun! … Read more