(Happy Birthday Carl Sagan)
Believe it or not, astronomical winter officially arrives Dec. 21 at 10:03 a.m. EST.
Astronomically speaking, this is the date and time of the Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere and the . We will have our longest night of the year and starting on Sunday the sun will start climbing higher in the sky each day with an ever-increasing length of daylight.
The Earth鈥檚 seasons 鈥� Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer 鈥� are caused by the Earth鈥檚 orbit around the Sun and the 23 1/2 degree tilt of our . This causes the amount of sunlight falling on the Earth鈥檚 Northern and Southern Hemispheres to constantly change. The two hemispheres are always opposite in their seasons 鈥� our Fall is their Spring while our Summer is their Winter.
If you are out enjoying the longest night of the year, the is predicted to peak on the night of Dec. 21 to dawn. There will be no moon to hamper the view.
Early Saturday morning, with my Odyssey Pro smart telescope, I imaged in just 24 seconds, which means it is bright. A follow-on exposure of 5 minutes imaged the comet nicely. 3I was approximately 169,150,000 miles away, traveling at approximately 125,000 mph. It was one day past the closest point of approach to Earth. I was mesmerized looking at this interstellar comet, awed at its billions of years of age, wondering where it had traveled in our galaxy among the stars and where it would wonder in the future. What a universe.
On Dec. 31, you will learn what my 鈥淭op Space Story for 2025鈥� is and on Jan. 1, 海角精品黑料鈥檚 monthly 鈥淓yes on the Skies鈥� will kick off 2026.
Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and Joyous New Year.
贵辞濒濒辞飞听聽to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration. You can email me at聽skyguyinva@gmail.com.
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