Lighting Advice for Borrego Springs
You can help protect Borrego's night sky from the increasing problem of light pollution.
Making small improvements to lighting can lead to huge improvements in the quality of our dark night sky.
courtesy Yorkshire Dales UK National Park Authority
Sky Calendar: December 2024 and January 2025
By Dr. Randolph Baron
| Early December | Sunrise 6:30 a.m., Sunset 4:37 p.m. PST |
| Dec 4, Wed | Conjunction of 3-day old Moon and Venus visible in the west after sunset |
| Dec 7, Sat | Jupiter at opposition, visible all night |
| Dec 8, Sun | Conjunction of first quarter Moon and Saturn visible at dusk, Saturn south and west of Moon |
| Dec 13, Fri | Geminid Meteor Shower (See below) |
| Dec 14, Sat | Conjunction of nearly full Moon and Jupiter with Jupiter east and south of Moon |
| Dec 15, Sun | Full “Cold” Moon, rise 4:57 p.m. |
| Dec 21, Sat | Winter Solstice 1:21 a.m. |
| Dec 21, Sat | Ursid Meteor Shower (See below) |
| Early January | Sunrise 6:49 a.m., Sunset 4:49 p.m. |
| Jan 2, Thurs | Quadrantid Meteor Shower (See below) |
| Jan 3, Fri | Conjunction of 4-day old Moon and Venus, with Venus to west of Moon at sunset |
| Jan 4, Sat | Conjunction of Moon and Saturn, with Saturn west of Moon |
| Jan 10, Fri | Conjunction of Moon and Jupiter, with Jupiter west and south of Moon |
| Jan 13, Mon | Full “Wolf” Moon, rise 4:51 p.m. |
| Jan 13, Mon | Conjunction of Moon and Mars, with Mars just north of the lunar disc |
| Jan 19, Sun | Conjunction of Venus and Saturn, with Saturn just south of Venus, visible in west after sunset |
| Jan 31, Fri | Conjunction of Saturn and Moon, with Saturn west of Moon and Venus just north of Moon |
| Early February | Sunrise 6:41 a.m., Sunset 5:17 p.m. The days are noticeably longer. |
THE PLANETS IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY
Venus is a brilliant evening planet in December and January.
Mercury can be glimpsed by the end of December rising just before the Sun in the east.
Jupiter is visible all evening.
Saturn, still an evening planet, is low in the southern sky and setting earlier each night.
Mars is in Gemini, and by late January will be almost directly overhead by midnight.
The Geminid Meteor Shower is a fine meteor shower that on a good night with no moon can produce up to 120 meteors per hour! This year the shower will be best around 2 a.m. on the morning of December 13 when Gemini is almost directly above us in the night sky. But meteors can be seen all night, so start looking after 8 p.m. or so on the 13th. The moon will be 92-percent full, so will interfere with seeing all but the brightest meteors, but this shower is still worth a look. The Geminids are often very bright with intensely colored trails. Unlike most meteor showers that originate from cometary debris, the Geminids originate from material thrown off an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon.
The Ursid Meteor Shower will be best seen in the predawn hours of December 22. Look towards the north where the radiant is in the little dipper, part of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. The shower can produce 10 or so meteors per hour, but this year the waxing moon at 52-percent full will be a hindrance.
The Quadrantid Meteor Shower will be peak in the predawn hours of January 3. Look towards the Big Dipper in the north (the “handle”). The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Big Bear. The moon being only a slim crescent will not be a hindrance. This shower is actually visible from December 28th through January 12. So, on any of those nights, we can see a greater number of meteors in the predawn hours than we would ordinarily see. The origin of this shower was not identified until 2003, when it was discovered that it originates from an asteroid now known as 2003 EH1 that orbits the Sun every 5.5 years.
Is Your Home Dark Sky Friendly?
You can reduce light pollution by ensuring that your exterior lighting is neighbor, and dark sky friendly.
Most people will find that a few simple changes can lead to home lighting that is both beautiful and functional,
without contributing to excessive light pollution. The International Dark Sky Association has a Dark Sky
Friendly Home Certification for just that purpose!
Learn more
