DECEMBER 2021 OBSERVING Lunar Almanac Northern Hemisphere Sky Chart 7 10 December 1 Yellow dots indicate which part of the Moon's limb is tipped the most toward Earth by libration. NASA / LRO 26 MOON PHASES MON SUN TUE 1 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28 8 15 22 29 WED 2 9 16 23 30 THU 3 10 17 24 31 FRI 4 11 18 25 SAT γ β NEW MOON FIRST QUARTER December 4 07:43 UT FULL MOON December 19 04:35 UT DISTANCES Perigee December 11 01:36 UT α LAST QUARTER December 27 02:24 UT December 4, 10h UT 356,794 km Diameter 33′ 29″ Apogee December 18, 02h UT 406,320 km Diameter 29′ 25″ FAVORABLE LIBRATIONS * Bouvard R Crater December 1 * Zeno Crater December 7 * Vashakidze Crater December 10 * Graff Crater 42 DECEMBER 2021 * SKY & TELESCOPE Galaxy Double star December 26 -1 1 2 3 4 Planet location shown for mid-month USING THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE MAP Go out within an hour of a time listed to the right. Turn the map around so the yellow label for the direction you're facing is at the bottom. That's the horizon. The center of the map is overhead. Ignore the parts of the map above horizons you're not facing. Exact for latitude 40°N. -40° P H O c i n g 1 η P -20° TAURUS Hyades Aldebaran β MONOCEROS NGC 2244 E g -1 0 1 2 3 4 a Galaxy Double star Variable star Open cluster Diffuse nebula Globular cluster Planetary nebula Galaxy Double star Variable star Open cluster Diffuse nebula Globular cluster Planetary nebula E C L I P T ε γ S E Mars ι 10h 7h F a c α 4h F a Double Cluster +60° I OP E I A γ +80° o N 3h Moon Dec 18 β i n g a F Pleiades α ε θ ζ i c n s t L Y N X c a F g n i E N δ ε α Polaris h t r E Q U A T O R I C ER I DANUS Capella A U R I G A M36 M38 M37 U R S A M A J O R β CAMELOPARDALIS M82 M81 α θ B i g D i p p e r Algol P ERS EUS ε α β θ M35 G E M I N I Castor α Pollux TRIANGULUM β α γ Hamal AR I E S α γ Mira ο θ η C E T U S π Ceti τ F O R N A X α S A O R Bellatrix O R I O N Betelgeuse M42 Rigel L E P U S M34 ρ γ α δ ε ζ β γ β M33 β α α ε γ δ ο λ α δ ε ζ β γ κ Moon Dec 14