TEMPUS FUGIT = TIME FLIES.
The SUN is in the astrological sign of SAGITTARIUS the ARCHER. The ruling planet of this sign is JUPITER.
The Sun enters the next sign, CAPRICORNUS, on DECEMBER 21 at 15h 59 UT., the Northern Hemisphere's WINTER SOLSTICE.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 09, 2021.
SCARBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE, U.K.
TIME'S PACES
'When, as a child, I laughed and wept, time crept.
When, as a youth, I dreamt and talked, time walked.
When I became a full grown man, time ran.
When, older still, I daily grew, time flew.
Soon I shall find, on travelling on, time gone.
O Christ! Wilt Thou have saved me then?
Amen.
Some lines written on a clock in the Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary, Chester, U.K. It is attached to the clock case in the north transept of the cathedral and was written by Henry Twells (1823 - 1900).
And Twells' ORIGINAL VERSION:
When as a child I laughed and wept,
Time crept.
When as a youth I waxed more bold,
Time strolled.
When I became a full grown man,
Time ran.
When older still I daily grew,
Time flew.
Soon I shall find, in passing on,
Time gone.
O Christ! wilt Thou have saved me then?
Amen.
THE CLOCK OF LIFE.
The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
Now, is the only time you own,
Live, love, toil with a will.
Place no faith in "tomorrow" for
The clock may then be still.
John's SkyNotes
The DECEMBER NIGHT SKY, 2021. The planetary positions shown are correct for the end of the month. This chart shows the whole sky
This is an educational site (I was, and am a teacher!), which is updated daily. I invite you to download any of the material you find here. Please feel free to download any of the content, which could be of use, or of interest to you. That is what this 'SKYNOTES' website is here for, after all!
Therefore:
Welcome to jonvran.co.uk, John's simple astronomy site where you will find information about what is happening in the night sky from the point of view of Scarborough in the United kingdom, latitude 54 deg. 17 minutes north, longitude 00 deg. 25 minutes west,(situated on the east coast, midway between London and Edinburgh, and also mainland Britain); as well as what I hope are other interesting bits and pieces, of use to everyone.
Historically, these 'Skynotes' are a direct cyber-descendent, of the paper Sky notes I prepared, for many years, by hand, for members, at each meeting of the Scarborough Astronomical Society from the moment the Society began in February, 1976. In those days, I produced all the illustrations including the star charts by hand, but now, with the advent of excellent astronomy software programs, I am able to use much better graphics, for which I must thank the many programmers who have produced these wonderful software gems. In the credits section you will find a list of these amazing sources which allow me to continue to produce my 'Skynotes', for the benefit of all. It does not seem that they have been produced continuously for over 46 years, but as the Latin inscription reminds us: tempvs fvgit ! (time flies)!. There are many 'pages' in this different version of 'Skynotes'. These are listed in the MENU at the top of the page. My hope is that you find within them something of interest, and may I, here, express my gratitude to the many people who have already visited, this, my small contribution towards the popularisation of astronomy, which has been my lifelong aim and ambition.
I record here also a special 'Thank-you' for two very special teachers. First, Miss M Walker (later Mrs Martin). I was in her form at Normanton Secondary Modern school, before transferring to Normanton Grammar School at the age of 13. She gave me a small note nook in which to write about and draw events taking place in the night sky. This was to be the tiny 'seed' which would eventually grow into these 'Skynotes'. Secondly, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the late Senior English Master, of Normanton Grammar School, Mr. T Hewson, who made me stand up in class during 'English' on Tuesday afternoons, and read aloud, to the class, several pages of Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, despite the difficulties I had, at that time in reading words. Thanks to him, I can now read fluently; but more importantly, he taught me to have confidence, to be able to share my love of astronomy with all to whom I have been invited to speak; and ultimately to become a teacher myself.
My greatest thanks of all, I give to my parents: to my Dad for showing me the stars, and my Mum who put up with me looking through my open window with a telescope in the depths of many Winter nights (in pre-central heating days), and freezing everyone in the household, except me!
It is my hope that you will enjoy these pages, and return here often to take what you will from this site, as the months change, the result of Earth's journey around the sun.
May you too, always follow safe paths, and have clear and unclouded skies, in all the many aspects of your life!
Finally, I want to say a huge 'Thank You!' to friends, collegues and some of my ex students who provide me with excellent images which they have, very kindly, given me permission to use.
The BLOG (About Me) bit is on a separate page. You can find it, if you are interested, via the MENU above!
The Moon in NOVEMBER 2021. Image by: @FeelBetter2day . Thanks Linda
PLEASE NOTE : Because of the size of this FRONT PAGE, which resulted in the slow loading of the material on some machines; I have created another additional page. It is called 'FRONT PAGE continued' and can be reached using the MENU above.
You will find there, illustrations of Saturn and its fascinating moon ENCELADUS, thought to be a possible abode of life, as is Jupiter's satellite Europa (also to be seen on this additional page)
SKYNOTES are available. Use The MENU above to find the current month's SKYNOTES.
ASTEROIDAL OCCULTATIONS for THE CURRENT MONTH accessible via the Menu above (ASTEROIDAL EVENTS). Thanks For those Andrej !
REMOTE PLANETS. The paths of URANUS, NEPTUNE, and PLUTO, have been updated for 2021.
POEM by Richard H Mann 'FRIENDS OF MINE' added to the ASTRONOMICAL POETRY page (see MENU above)
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
For information about suitable times to see the ISS, other satellites, and interesting objects, and to download the application if you wish, go to the following admirable site:
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Visible passes from SCARBOROUGH. UK
The TIMES shown here are UNIVERSAL TIME. (GMT)
Pass Details:
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 04 Dec | -2.6 | 16:57:47 | 10° | W | 17:01:01 | 42° | SSW | 17:04:15 | 10° | SE | visible |
| 04 Dec | -1.2 | 18:35:06 | 10° | WSW | 18:37:15 | 16° | SW | 18:37:58 | 15° | SSW | visible |
| 05 Dec | -1.3 | 17:47:22 | 10° | W | 17:50:01 | 21° | SSW | 17:52:39 | 10° | SSE | visible |
| 06 Dec | -1.7 | 16:59:46 | 10° | W | 17:02:43 | 27° | SSW | 17:05:39 | 10° | SE | visible |
| 07 Dec | -0.5 | 17:50:14 | 10° | WSW | 17:51:26 | 11° | SW | 17:52:36 | 10° | SSW | visible |
| 08 Dec | -0.7 | 17:01:58 | 10° | WSW | 17:04:07 | 16° | SW | 17:06:15 | 10° | S | visible |
| Date | Brightness | Start | Highest point | End | Pass type | ||||||
| (mag) | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | Time | Alt. | Az. | ||
| 18 Dec | -0.6 | 07:29:09 | 10° | S | 07:31:21 | 16° | SE | 07:33:33 | 10° | ESE | visible |
| 19 Dec | -0.4 | 06:42:19 | 10° | SSE | 06:43:38 | 12° | SE | 06:44:56 | 10° | ESE | visible |
| 20 Dec | -1.5 | 07:28:55 | 10° | SW | 07:31:50 | 28° | SSE | 07:34:46 | 10° | E | visible |
| 21 Dec | -1.2 | 06:41:20 | 10° | SSW | 06:43:57 | 21° | SSE | 06:46:36 | 10° | E | visible |
| 22 Dec | -0.9 | 05:53:56 | 10° | S | 05:56:05 | 16° | SE | 05:58:14 | 10° | ESE | visible |
| 22 Dec | -2.5 | 07:29:05 | 10° | WSW | 07:32:17 | 42° | SSE | 07:35:30 | 10° | E | visible |
| 23 Dec | -0.7 | 05:07:30 | 11° | SSE | 05:08:13 | 11° | SE | 05:09:24 | 10° | ESE | visible |
| 23 Dec | -2.2 | 06:41:11 | 10° | SW | 06:44:16 | 34° | SSE | 06:47:23 | 10° | E | visible |
THE MOON AND SUN.
DECEMBER 08 at 18h UT....WANING CRESCENT. NEW MOON was on DECEMBER 04 at 07h 43 UT.FIRST QUARTER MOON is on DECEMBER 11 at 01h 36 UT
DECEMBER 08 at 18h UT THE MOON'S CELESTIAL POSITION (Scarborough UK).
Key to LUNAR FEATURES.
DECEMBER 09 : The SUN'S celestial positions, as seen from Earth, at 12h UT.
Astronomical Constellation : OPHIUCHUS.
Astrological Sign: SAGITTARIUS.
On DECEMBER 21 at 15h 59 UT, the SUN enters the Astrological Sign of CAPRICORNUS. the SEA GOAT. This is the moment of the WINTER SOLSTICE in the Northern Hemisphere, and the SUMMER SOLSTICE in the Southern Hemisphere.
DECEMBER 08: Today's SOLAR PHOTOSPHERE image in visible light, courtesy of NASA.
MOON PHASES, DECEMBER 2021.
Courtesy: LunarPhase Pro software
THINGS TO LOOK FOR:
The times when ALGOL (Beta Persei), the famous eclipsing variable star reaches its MINIMUM brightness may be found in the monthly SKYNOTES summary for each month. The star has a page dedicated to itself also, accessible via the MENU above.
ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS due this month may be found in the MONTHLY SKYNOTES, accessible via the MENU above.
THE DECEMBER FULL MOON : The moment of FULL MOON is DECEMBER 19 at 04h 35 UT.
The angular diameter of the Planets compared, in DECEMBER 2021
SCARBOROUGH, SOUTH BAY, an Early DECEMBER SUNRISE. Image courtesy of Faith Young @FaithYoungWriter
Thanks Faith.
DECEMBER SUNRISE
SUNRISE and SUNSET, SCARBOROUGH.
LOCAL UK TIME (UT)
DECEMBER 09, 2021.
RISE: 08h 09 SET: 15h 38
DAY LENGTH (SUNRISE TO SET)
07h 28m 22s
(The DECREASE is by 01m 32s)
MOONRISE and SET, SCARBOROUGH.
RISE: 12h 39 SET: 21h 49
TIDE TIMES, SCARBOROUGH.
NORTH SEA: DECEMBER 09, 2021
LOCAL TIME (UT)
LW: 01h 36
HW: 07h 46
LW: 13h 52
HW: 20h 00
The images of SCARBOROUGH preceeding and following these tables are by kind permission of people who live here, and who are justifiably proud of their seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast.
SCARBOROUGH, NORTH BAY, Late NOVEMBER. 2021, after the storm.
Image courtesy of @FeelBetter2day . Thanks Linda
DECEMBER, 2021 JUPITER and the GALILEAN SATELLITES. The Date is at the side. The horizontal line shows the positions of the satellites at 00h Universal Time. Interpolate to find the arrangement at other times in the day. Chart courtesy of CoelixApex Software.
Plese note: in this chart SOUTH is at the top , NORTH is at the bottom.
NEXT SCARBOROUGH, UK SOLAR ECLIPSE,
A PARTIAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN - OCTOBER 25, 2022. A partial eclipse is visible from the UK !The 'layers' in the 'Eclipse Zone' on the map show the percentage of Sun covered by the Moon. Each segment is a 10% increase, starting at the edge (0%).
Future solar and lunar eclipses for UK, may be found using the MENU above.
VENUS Telescopic and Binocular appearance, mid DECEMBER in the early evening sky.
The planet's appearance, here, has NORTH at the top on the illustration, and SOUTH at the bottom. VENUS has a low declination as it passes through the constellation of SAGITTARIUS
AURORAL CORONA October,1989 in TRIANGULUM. Notice the Pleiades nearby, and the costellations of PERSEUS (upper left), and ARIES (below the middle of the image). Stars of ANDROMEDA can be seen to the upper right (and if you look carefully, following the stars Mirach, Mu and Nu Andromedae upwards, you may see the nucleus of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, just to the right of Nu. The Auroral Corona is the point where the Solar particles are coming directly down through the atmosphere towards the observer, producing a definite perspective effect.
Photo taken by Sheila Anderson. Thanks Sheila
Lunar Eclipse starting at Moonset in UK.
NOVEMBER 19 at 07h 44m UT Image by Maurice Bradwell, from Sandal Castle, WAKEFIELD, West Yorkshire, looking North West. Thanks Maurice, for this beautiful image.
The phenomena of the month : DECEMBER 2021
Times are given in UT for SCARBOROUGH (0° 25' 5" W, 54° 16' 30" N, zone 0 = UT).
Date Hour Description of the phenomenon
yyyy mm dd hh:mm
2021 12 01 06:01 Opposition of the asteroid 521 Brixia with the Sun (dist. to the Sun = 2.004 AU; magn.
= 9.2)
2021 12 01 09:56 Minimum of the variable star beta Lyrae
2021 12 02 08:38 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021
12 03 00:00 Mercury at its aphelion (distance to the Sun = 0.46670 AU)
2021 12 03 00:08 Close encounter between the Moon and Mars (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 0.2°)
2021 12 03 18:27 Maximum of the variable star eta Aquilae
2021 12 04 07:43 NEW MOON (total eclipse of the Sun not visible in SCARBOROUGH). Totality visible from ANTARCTICA.
2021 12 04 08:01 Maximum of the variable star delta Cephei
2021 12 04 10:01 Moon at perigee (geocentric dist. = 356794 km)
2021 12 05 05:27 Minimum of the variable
star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 06 18:00 VENUS at maximum brightness (magn. -4.71)
2021 12 07 01:33 Close encounter between the Moon and Venus (topocentric dist. centre
to centre = 2.3°)
2021 12 07 03:27 Close encounter between the Moon and Pluto (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 3.0°)
2021 12 08 02:16 Minimum of the variable
star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 08 03:26 Close encounter between the Moon and Saturn (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 4.6°)
2021 12 08 22:59 Meteor shower : Monocerotids
(3 meteors/hour at zenith; duration = 20.0 days)
2021 12 08 22:59 Meteor shower : Sigma Hydrids (7 meteors/hour at zenith; duration = 12.0 days)
2021 12 09 07:40 Close encounter
between the Moon and Jupiter (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 5.0°)
2021 12 09 16:48 Maximum of the variable star delta Cephei
2021 12 09 21:59 Maximum of the variable
star zeta Gemini
2021 12 10 22:41 Maximum of the variable star eta Aquilae
2021 12 10 23:05 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 11 01:35 FIRST QUARTER OF THE MOON
2021 12 11 04:27 Close encounter between the Moon and Neptune (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 4.4°)
2021 12 11
08:46 Opposition of the asteroid 44 Nysa with the Sun (dist. to the Sun = 2.116 AU; magn. = 9.1)
2021 12 11 13:37 Close encounter between Venus and Pluto (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 0.1°)
2021 12 13 19:54 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 14 01:59 Meteor shower : Geminids (150 meteors/hour at zenith; duration = 12.0 days)
2021 12 14 08:31 Minimum of the variable star beta Lyrae
2021 12 15 01:36 Maximum of the variable star delta Cephei
2021 12 15 07:41 Close encounter between the Moon
and Uranus (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 2.1°)
2021 12 15 20:17 Meteor shower : Coma Berenicids (3 meteors/hour at zenith; duration = 11.0 days)
2021 12 16 16:43
Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 17 21:45 Beginning of occultation of 94 Tau (magn. = 4.27)
2021 12 17 22:17 End of occultation of 94-tau Tau (magn.
= 4.27)
2021 12 18 02:16 Moon at apogee (geocentric dist. = 406320 km)
2021 12 18 02:56 Maximum of the variable star eta Aquilae
2021
12 19 04:36 FULL MOON
2021 12 19 13:32 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 19 18:40 Meteor shower : Dec. Leo Minorids (5 meteors/hour at zenith; duration
= 61.0 days)
2021 12 20 01:35 Maximum of the variable star zeta Gemini
2021 12 20 10:24 Maximum of the variable star delta Cephei
2021
12 21 15:59 WINTER SOLSTICE
2021 12 22 10:19 Meteor shower : Ursids (10 meteors/hour at zenith; duration = 9.0 days)
2021 12 22 10:21 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta
Persei)
2021 12 24 04:28 Beginning of occultation of 30-eta Leo (magn. = 3.48)
2021 12 24 04:58 End of occultation of 30-eta Leo (magn. = 3.48)
2021 12 25 07:10 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 25 07:11 Maximum of the variable star eta Aquilae
2021 12 25 11:46 Close encounter between
Venus and Pluto (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 2.9°)
2021 12 25 19:12 Maximum of the variable star delta Cephei
2021 12 27 02:24 LAST QUARTER OF THE MOON
2021 12 27 07:06 Minimum of the variable star beta Lyrae
2021 12 27 17:59 Close encounter between Mars and Antares (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 4.5°)
2021 12 28 03:59 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 29 05:46 Close encounter between Mercury and Venus (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 4.2°)
2021 12 30 05:10 Maximum of the variable star zeta Gemini
2021 12 30 10:04 Close encounter between Mercury and Pluto (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 0.2°)
2021 12 30 22:47 Opposition of the asteroid 22 Kalliope with the Sun (dist. to the Sun = 2.676 AU; magn. = 10.1)
2021 12 31 00:49 Minimum of the variable star Algol (beta Persei)
2021 12 31 03:59 Maximum of the variable star delta Cephei
2021 12 31 20:19 Close encounter between the Moon and Mars (topocentric dist. centre to centre = 1.5°)