Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 50

DECEMBER 2023 OBSERVING
Celestial Calendar
319 Leona
Occultation
of Betelgeuse
Cape
Coral
Immokalee
Coral
FLORIDA
Naples
Springs
Fort
Lauderdale
Miami
Homestead
Boynton
Beach
Action at Jupiter
Key
West
The occultation centerline cuts across southern Florida just south of Homestead, where the
event takes place at around 8:25 p.m. EST on December 11th.
If the asteroid is smaller than the star,
the event could be difficult to perceive.
Hopefully by the time you read this,
these uncertainties will be resolved.
You can contribute scientifically
useful observations by making an
accurately timed video recording of
the occultation. Join the campaign
by filling out a form at https://is.gd/
leonacampaign. If you're unable to
Minima of Algol
Nov.
UT
2
4
7
10
13
16
19
22
25
27
30
2:12
23:01
19:50
16:39
13:28
10:17
7:06
3:55
0:44
21:33
18:22
Dec.
3
6
9
12
15
make it to the centerline, you might be
able to watch the occultation online.
If it's livestreamed we'll post links at
skyandtelescope.org, so check often.
It's not often that an asteroid
eclipses a star as bright as Betelgeuse, so
you don't want to miss this opportunity
if you can reach the occultation path.
Of course, getting there is only half the
battle - you'll still need clear skies!
IF YOU'RE THE TYPE of observer who
prefers using a telescope in the evening
hours instead of after midnight, the
best part of the current Jupiter apparition
is now underway. The planet
transits the meridian - where it's best
placed for telescopic viewing - at the
convenient hour of 9:30 p.m. local
time on December 1st. By the end of
the month, it hits that mark two hours
earlier. In mid-December, Jupiter shines
at magnitude -2.7 from southwestern
Aries, where it presents a disk 46.2″
across. In effect, you can productively
observe the planet from early in evening
twilight until around 1 a.m.
Any scope reveals the four big
Galilean moons, and binoculars usually
show at least two or three. Use the
diagram on the facing page to identify
them by their relative positions on any
given date and time. All the observable
interactions between Jupiter and its satellites
and their shadows are tabulated
on the facing page.
Features on Jupiter appear closer to
UT
15:11
12:00
8:49
5:38
2:27
17 23:17
20
23
26
29
20:06
16:55
13:44
10:33
These geocentric predictions are from the recent
heliocentric elements Min. = JD 2457360.307 +
2.867351E, where E is any integer. They were
derived by Roger W. Sinnott from 15 photoelectric
series in the AAVSO database acquired during
2015-2020 by Wolfgang Vollmann, Gerard Samolyk,
and Ivan Sergey. For a comparison-star chart
and more info, see skyandtelescope.org/algol.
50 DECEMBER 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE
18
30
PERSEUS
38
Algol
21
29
the central meridian than to the limb
for 50 minutes before and after transiting.
Here are the times, in Universal
Time, when the Great Red Spot should
cross Jupiter's central meridian. The
dates, also in UT, are in bold. (Eastern
Standard Time is UT minus 5 hours.)
November 1: 2:44, 12:40, 22:35;
TRIANGULUM
34
Perseus approaches the zenith on
chilly December evenings. Every 2.87
days, Algol (Beta Persei) dips from its
usual magnitude 2.1 to 3.4 and back.
Use this chart to estimate its brightness
in respect to comparison stars of magnitude
2.1 (Gamma Andromedae) and 3.4
(Alpha Trianguli).
2: 8:31, 18:26; 3: 4:22, 14:17; 4: 0:13,
10:09, 20:04; 5: 6:00, 15:55; 6: 1:51,
11:47, 21:42; 7: 7:38, 17:33; 8: 3:29,
13:25, 23:20; 9: 9:16, 19:11; 10: 5:07,
15:02; 11: 0:58, 10:54, 20:49; 12: 6:45,
16:40; 13: 2:36, 12:32, 22:27; 14: 8:23,
18:18; 15: 4:14, 14:10; 16: 0:05, 10:01,
19:56; 17: 5:52, 15:48; 18: 1:43, 11:39,
21:35; 19: 7:30, 17:26; 20: 3:21, 13:17,
23:13; 21: 9:08, 19:04; 22: 4:59, 14:55;
23: 0:51, 10:46, 20:42; 24: 6:38, 16:33;
25: 2:29, 12:24, 22:20; 26: 8:16, 18:11;
27: 4:07, 14:03, 23:58; 28: 9:54, 19:49;
29: 5:45, 15:41; 30: 1:36, 11:32, 21:28
December 1: 7:27, 17:22; 2: 3:18,
13:13, 23:09; 3: 9:05, 19:00; 4: 4:56,
14:52; 5: 0:47, 10:43, 20:39; 6: 6:34,
16:30; 7: 2:26, 12:21, 22:17; 8: 8:13,
18:08; 9: 4:04, 14:00, 23:55; 10: 9:51,
LEAH TISCIONE / S&T
Northern limit of occultation
Occultation path
Southern limit of occultation
http://www.skyandtelescope.org https://is.gd/leonacampaign https://is.gd/leonacampaign http://www.skyandtelescope.org/algol

Sky & Telescope - December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - December 2023

Contents
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 1
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 3
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 4
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 5
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 6
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 7
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 8
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 9
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 10
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 11
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 12
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 13
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 14
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 15
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 16
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 17
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 18
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 19
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 20
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 21
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 22
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 23
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 24
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 25
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 26
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 27
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 28
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 29
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 30
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 31
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 33
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 34
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 35
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 38
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 43
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 49
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 50
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 51
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 78
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 79
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 81
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Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 83
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - 84
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - Cover3
Sky & Telescope - December 2023 - Cover4
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