By Katherine Svenkeson

December filled with stargazing opportunities

Nov 30, 2016 | 4:00 PM

The upcoming month will have a handful of chances to stargaze, including meteor showers, a full moon super moon and the brightening constellations up in the sky.

The North Battleford Leisure Services recommends taking up the activity, with handouts that include dates, locations and tips available at the Battlefords Co-op Aquatic Centre and the North Battleford Public Library.

Astronomy lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan, Stan Shadick, said that winter is possibly the best time to stargaze.

“We’re moving into the winter season, so that’s always [the] best time from one point of view,” Shadick said. “The days are shortest so the nights are long so you can actually see a good variety of stars and constellations and planets.”

Being some of the brightest objects in the sky, Shadick said it’s a great time to look at our neighbours Venus and Mars. Some constellations that will be easily visible to keep an eye on are Orion, Taurus, and Cygnus the swan.

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In the upcoming weeks, a meteor shower comparable to the August perseid meteor shower, according to the lecturer, will be visible. The geminid showers can be seen on Dec. 13 and 14.

“What you need to do is get out of the city, get to a dark rural area, and basically be very patient, wait for your eyes to become dark adapted and then if you sit around for half an hour then you have a good chance of seeing a few shooting stars and meteors streaking across the sky,” he said. However, he also pointed out that its winter and you’ll need to suit up if you plan to have a good view.

“If you can lie down and look up to see the heavens then you’ll see the maximum number of meteors but of course it’s rather chilly so you need to be dressed very warmly to watch the Geminids properly in December,” he said.

For the optimal experience, Shadick suggests waiting until after midnight when the meteors will be most visible, and laying on your back to see the whole sky.

Other events to observe is the super moon on Dec. 15 and the ursids meteor showers on Dec. 21 and 22.

Katherine.svenkeson@jpbg.ca

@ksvenkeson