DECEMBER 2023 OBSERVING Lunar Almanac Northern Hemisphere Sky Chart 8 Yellow dots indicate which part of the Moon's limb is tipped the most toward Earth by libration. NASA / LRO 26 27 December 5 γ β LAST QUARTER NEW MOON December 5 05:49 UT FIRST QUARTER December 19 18:39 UT DISTANCES Apogee 404,346 km Perigee 367,901 km December 12 23:32 UT α FULL MOON December 27 00:33 UT December 4, 19h UT Diameter 29′ 33″ December 16, 19h UT Diameter 32′ 29″ FAVORABLE LIBRATIONS * Cabeus Crater * Lacus Autumni * Oken Crater * Lyot Crater December 5 December 8 December 26 December 27 42 DECEMBER 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE Galaxy Double star -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 β Aldebaran 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 E C L I P T ε γ S E Mars I C ER I DANUS 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 26 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 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 γ α 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 ε δ ζ κ β γ Moon Dec 23 Jupiter