Monthly Observing Information
This page provides charts, and text concerning what is visible in the night sky during the month noted. All information is for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but they can still provide useful information for most other areas of the U.S.A. Sky charts, Saturn ring plane, and Venus phase images are for Midnight, on the 15th day of the month. Sky charts are 100 degree field of view, and show objects down to 12th magnitude. Times in the Astronomy Lab 2 text information are in 24 hour format and have been adjusted for Daylight Savings Time. Subtract 12 hours from those over 12 to get the equivalent PM. RA and DEC given are for Epoch 2000.
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Baton Rouge Clear Sky Clock
Click on image for more info and details. This clock is for the Baton Rouge area only.
December
Moon Calendar
Sky charts
Saturn’s Ring Plane
Venus Phase
Begin End Date Moonrise Moonset Sunrise Sunset Twilight Twilight ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- 12/1/2022 13:24 00:23 06:44 17:04 05:19 18:28 12/2/2022 13:53 01:25 06:45 17:04 05:20 18:28 12/3/2022 14:22 02:24 06:45 17:04 05:21 18:28 12/4/2022 14:52 03:24 06:46 17:04 05:21 18:28 12/5/2022 15:25 04:23 06:47 17:04 05:22 18:29 12/6/2022 16:01 05:23 06:48 17:04 05:23 18:29 12/7/2022 16:41 06:22 06:49 17:04 05:23 18:29 12/8/2022 17:26 07:21 06:49 17:04 05:24 18:29 12/9/2022 18:16 08:16 06:50 17:04 05:25 18:29 12/10/2022 19:10 09:07 06:51 17:04 05:25 18:30 12/11/2022 20:06 09:52 06:51 17:05 05:26 18:30 12/12/2022 21:03 10:31 06:52 17:05 05:27 18:30 12/13/2022 21:59 11:06 06:53 17:05 05:27 18:31 12/14/2022 22:55 11:38 06:53 17:05 05:28 18:31 12/15/2022 23:50 12:06 06:54 17:06 05:29 18:31 12/16/2022 ------ 12:34 06:55 17:06 05:29 18:32 12/17/2022 00:46 13:02 06:55 17:07 05:30 18:32 12/18/2022 01:45 13:32 06:56 17:07 05:30 18:33 12/19/2022 02:45 14:04 06:56 17:07 05:31 18:33 12/20/2022 03:51 14:42 06:57 17:08 05:31 18:34 12/21/2022 05:01 15:28 06:58 17:08 05:32 18:34 12/22/2022 06:13 16:23 06:58 17:09 05:32 18:35 12/23/2022 07:24 17:28 06:59 17:09 05:33 18:35 12/24/2022 08:28 18:39 06:59 17:10 05:33 18:36 12/25/2022 09:25 19:53 06:59 17:11 05:34 18:36 12/26/2022 10:11 21:05 07:00 17:11 05:34 18:37 12/27/2022 10:50 22:13 07:00 17:12 05:35 18:37 12/28/2022 11:25 23:18 07:01 17:12 05:35 18:38 12/29/2022 11:56 ------ 07:01 17:13 05:35 18:39 12/30/2022 12:25 00:19 07:01 17:14 05:36 18:39 12/31/2022 12:55 01:19 07:01 17:15 05:36 18:40 '------' means the event does not occur on this date. Object Right ascensio Declination Azimuth Altitude Earth distance Sun distance ------------ -------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- --------------- --------------- Sun 17h 30m 28.3s -23° 15' 53" 0° 34' 12" -82° 48' 52" 0 0 Mercury 18h 53m 03.4s -25° 05' 55" 281° 22' 32" -71° 03' 47" 171,326,212 57,466,795 Venus 18h 27m 59.3s -24° 11' 38" 292° 47' 05" -75° 51' 15" 246,951,955 108,907,257 Mars 04h 47m 03.4s +24° 55' 32" 242° 55' 10" +78° 51' 48" 84,458,704 230,884,994 Jupiter 00h 00m 35.6s -01° 25' 04" 264° 58' 54" +05° 41' 44" 709,839,552 740,716,214 Saturn 21h 34m 46.7s -15° 43' 01" 270° 12' 13" -32° 39' 26" 1,545,490,473 1,472,022,634 Uranus 02h 52m 48.8s +16° 09' 02" 257° 27' 41" +51° 15' 32" 2,825,023,025 2,942,950,862 Neptune 23h 35m 00.9s -04° 00' 09" 266° 00' 49" -01° 07' 02" 4,473,871,689 4,474,897,896 Pluto 19h 58m 42.4s -22° 55' 12" 273° 50' 08" -56° 16' 08" 5,307,499,044 5,186,070,229 Moon 10h 58m 46.5s +11° 21' 41" 84° 04' 50" +12° 33' 43" 400,226 0 Object Rise: Tran Set: Phase Constl Magnitud ------------ ----- ----- ----- ------- --------- -------- Sun 06:54 12:00 17:06 0.00% Oph unknown Mercury 08:24 13:23 18:23 77.88% Sgr -0.6 Venus 07:56 12:58 18:00 97.56% Sgr -3.9 Mars 16:06 23:11 06:21 99.69% Tau -1.7 Jupiter 12:28 18:27 00:29 99.01% Psc -2.5 Saturn 10:38 16:01 21:25 99.82% Cap 0.8 Uranus 14:38 21:19 04:03 99.98% Ari 5.7 Neptune 12:09 18:01 23:53 99.97% Aqr 7.9 Pluto 09:20 14:24 19:29 99.99% Sgr 14.4 Moon 23:49 05:34 12:06 61.00% Leo unknown Moon Data --------- Distance (km): 400,225.7 Distance (miles): 248,689.4 True Equatorial: 10h 55m 33.4s +11° 47' 41" Angular diameter: 0° 29' 58" Total libration (l,b): 5° 13' 06" , 5° 54' 46" Optical libration: 5° 13' 21" , 5° 54' 00" Physical libration: 0° 00' 14" , 0° 00' 46" Position Angle: 21° 44' 18" Pos. angle (bright limb): 77° 17' 37" Phase angle: 21° 44' 18" Age: 21.35 Mars Data --------- Declination of earth: 6° 35' 53" Declination of Sun: 2° 23' 43" Longitude of the central Meridian:192° 52' 57" Pos. Angle: 326° 20' 40" Jupiter Data ----------------- Declination of earth: 2° 10' 16" Declination of Sun: 2° 30' 27" Longitude of the central Meridian:116° 12' 30" Pos. Angle: 334° 29' 04" Saturn Data --------- Declination of earth: 14° 17' 33" Declination of Sun: 12° 15' 08" Longitude of the central Meridian: 0° 00' 00" Pos. Angle: 6° 26' 59" Name Month/Day RA Decl Hourly Rate ----------------------------- ------------ ---------- ---------- ----------- December Phoenicids 12/05 1.0 -55.0 100 December Phoenicids 12/05 1.0 -45.0 100 Monocerotids 12/10 6.7 14.0 3 Southern Chi Orionids 12/10 5.7 16.0 8 Northern Chi Orionids 12/11 5.6 26.0 4 Sigma Hydrids 12/11 8.4 1.6 5 Delta Arietids 12/11 3.5 22.0 5 Geminids 12/14 7.5 32.5 90 Ursids 12/22 14.5 75.8 20
Information for this section is from TheSkyX Student Edition
Planet View Info Report for 12/ 1/2022 to 12/31/2022
Mercury
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 7:49 17:47 17h20m29s -25°09'00" 12°27'50" 0.940 1.35893
12/ 8/2022 8:09 18:05 18h07m09s -25°43'56" 15°55'07" 0.884 1.27201
12/15/2022 8:24 18:23 18h51m36s -25°08'31" 18°49'32" 0.783 1.15024
12/22/2022 8:27 18:36 19h28m17s -23°28'20" 20°08'04" 0.599 0.99232
12/29/2022 8:07 18:26 19h45m00s -21°17'55" 17°06'34" 0.303 0.81578
Venus
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 7:32 17:41 17h09m53s -23°19'14" 9°45'41" 0.987 1.67951
12/ 8/2022 7:45 17:49 17h48m09s -24°03'45" 11°27'23" 0.982 1.66631
12/15/2022 7:56 18:00 18h26m39s -24°12'08" 13°08'14" 0.976 1.65133
12/22/2022 8:05 18:13 19h05m02s -23°43'55" 14°48'10" 0.969 1.63457
12/29/2022 8:12 18:26 19h42m58s -22°40'02" 16°27'16" 0.962 1.61597
Mars
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 17:24 7:40 5h10m54s 24°57'40" 169°41'44" 0.997 0.54449
12/ 8/2022 16:45 7:00 4h58m59s 24°59'51" 177°41'28" 1.000 0.54924
12/15/2022 16:06 6:21 4h47m28s 24°55'55" 170°16'52" 0.997 0.56388
12/22/2022 15:29 5:44 4h37m30s 24°47'55" 161°02'24" 0.989 0.58822
12/29/2022 14:55 5:08 4h29m57s 24°38'54" 152°14'34" 0.978 0.62161
Jupiter
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 13:22 1:21 23h58m00s -1°46'10" 110°03'58" 0.991 4.52515
12/ 8/2022 12:55 0:54 23h58m53s -1°38'16" 103°13'31" 0.991 4.63159
12/15/2022 12:28 0:29 0h00m22s -1°26'33" 96°31'58" 0.990 4.74101
12/22/2022 12:02 0:04 0h02m25s -1°11'10" 89°58'53" 0.990 4.85198
12/29/2022 11:37 23:36 0h05m00s -0°52'22" 83°34'08" 0.990 4.96300
Saturn
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 11:30 22:16 21h31m01s -16°02'17" 71°10'20" 0.998 10.13760
12/ 8/2022 11:04 21:51 21h32m53s -15°52'54" 64°33'02" 0.998 10.24501
12/15/2022 10:38 21:26 21h35m00s -15°42'16" 57°58'50" 0.998 10.34669
12/22/2022 10:12 21:01 21h37m21s -15°30'28" 51°27'25" 0.998 10.44138
12/29/2022 9:47 20:37 21h39m54s -15°17'35" 44°58'47" 0.999 10.52783
Uranus
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 15:34 5:01 2h54m43s 16°17'13" 157°16'01" 1.000 18.76315
12/ 8/2022 15:06 4:32 2h53m43s 16°13'00" 149°55'07" 1.000 18.81674
12/15/2022 14:38 4:03 2h52m49s 16°09'12" 142°34'52" 1.000 18.88347
12/22/2022 14:09 3:35 2h52m02s 16°05'55" 135°15'32" 1.000 18.96232
12/29/2022 13:41 3:07 2h51m23s 16°03'13" 127°57'46" 1.000 19.05201
Neptune
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 13:04 0:52 23h34m56s -4°01'15" 103°53'20" 1.000 29.66125
12/ 8/2022 12:37 0:25 23h34m56s -4°00'59" 96°47'38" 1.000 29.78061
12/15/2022 12:09 23:54 23h35m02s -4°00'03" 89°42'51" 1.000 29.90170
12/22/2022 11:42 23:26 23h35m15s -3°58'27" 82°38'57" 1.000 30.02278
12/29/2022 11:14 22:59 23h35m34s -3°56'11" 75°36'16" 1.000 30.14199
Pluto
Date Rise Set RA Dec Elongation Ill Fr DIST(AU)
12/ 1/2022 10:15 20:24 19h57m07s -22°59'05" 48°03'43" 1.000 35.30850
12/ 8/2022 9:48 19:57 19h57m52s -22°57'18" 41°08'57" 1.000 35.39759
12/15/2022 9:21 19:30 19h58m41s -22°55'23" 34°14'30" 1.000 35.47583
12/22/2022 8:54 19:04 19h59m33s -22°53'20" 27°20'24" 1.000 35.54217
12/29/2022 8:28 18:37 20h00m28s -22°51'11" 20°27'15" 1.000 35.59563
Planet Apsides Report for 2022
Venus
12/26/2022 Aphelion Distance from Sun: 0.73 AU
Planet Conjunction/Opposition Report for 12/ 1/2022 to 12/31/2022
Mars
Date Hour Event
12/ 8/2022 0 Opposition
Planet Data Report
Planet Mean Dist Period of Inclination Equatorial
From Sun Revolution Diameter
(AU) (km)
Mercury 0.39 88 days 7° 4880
Venus 0.72 224.7 days 3.4° 12100
Earth 1.00 365.24 days 0° 12756
Mars 1.52 687 days 1.9° 6794
Jupiter 5.20 11.86 years 1.3° 143200
Saturn 9.54 29.46 years 2.5° 120000
Uranus 19.18 84 years 0.8° 52290
Neptune 30.06 165 years 1.8° 50450
Pluto 39.44 248 years 17.2° 2200-2300
Moon Apsides Report for 12/ 1/2022 to 12/31/2022
Date Hour Apsis Distance (km) Diameter
12/11/2022 18 Apogee 405884 0.4907°
12/24/2022 3 Perigee 358282 0.5559°
Moon Nodes Report for 12/ 1/2022 to 12/31/2022
Date Time Node Illuminated Fraction
12/ 5/2022 6:38 Ascending 0.92
12/19/2022 19:35 Descending 0.17
Meteor Showers Report for 12/ 1/2022 to 12/31/2022
Date Meteor Shower ZHR RA DEC Illum. Frac. Longitude
12/ 8/2022 Puppids-Velids 15 9h00m -48° 1.00 257°
12/13/2022 Geminids 75 7h28m 32° 0.74 262°
12/22/2022 Ursids 5 14h28m 78° 0.01 271°
12/25/2022 Puppids-Velids 15 9h20m -65° 0.08 274°
Twilight Report for 12/ 1/2022 to 12/31/2022
Date Sun Astronomical Nautical Civil
Rise Set Begin End Begin End Begin End
12/ 1/2022 6:44 17:04 5:15 18:32 5:44 18:03 6:14 17:34
12/ 8/2022 6:49 17:04 5:20 18:33 5:49 18:04 6:19 17:35
12/15/2022 6:54 17:06 5:24 18:36 5:53 18:06 6:23 17:36
12/22/2022 6:58 17:09 5:28 18:39 5:57 18:10 6:27 17:40
12/29/2022 7:01 17:13 5:31 18:43 6:00 18:14 6:30 17:44
Information for this section is from Astronomy Lab 2.03
