Actual Astronomy - Observer’s Calendar for December
Release Date: 11/30/2023
Had Astra Historia - The 2026 Doggett Prize, Part 2
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Episode 208. Today’s guest: Professor Thomas Hockey, with the University of Northern Iowa, is the recipient of HAD’s 2026 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize, which is awarded biennially to an individual who has significantly influenced the field of the history of astronomy by a career-long effort. In today’s episode, our focus is mainly on his more significant books. H’ad astra historia is the official podcast for the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society. We’re here to share stories from and about the people who study the stars, planets, and the cosmos....
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 776: The Matter - Antimatter Dichotomy
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by: Fraser Cain ( ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay ( ) Streamed live on Dec 22, 2025. Shortly after the big bang there were almost exactly the same amounts of matter and antimatter in the Universe, but there was just enough of a difference that we live in a matter-dominated Universe. But it didn’t have to be that way! Explaining this mystery has been one of the great mysteries in astronomy, and today we’ll see if there’s been any progress! Why is the Universe the way it is? Specifically, why is it made mostly of matter? This is the question we'll look at today! This show is...
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Travelers in the Night Eps. 841 & 842: Moon Fragment & Tesla Recovered
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. From March 2025. Today's 2 topics: - Astronomers have yet to discover any long lasting natural object, beside our Moon, which orbits the Earth, however, occasionally, a small space rock enters into a temporary dance with our home planet. - My Catalina Sky Survey teammate Greg Leonard was asteroid hunting in the constellation of Hydra with our Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona when a fast moving unknown point...
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The Cosmic Savannah - Ep. 77: Troublesome Inkathazo & the Age of Giants
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by Dr. Jacinta Delhaize, Dr. Tshiamiso Makwela & Dr. Daniel Cunnama. In this “mid-season special” episode, we introduce you to an extraordinary giant radio galaxy nicknamed “Inkathazo”, meaning ‘trouble’ in isiXhosa and isiZulu. We speak with Kathleen Charlton, a Master’s student from the University of Cape Town, about the discovery of Inkathazo and her newly published work on the topic. Kathleen spoke with us from the University of Oxford, where she was working with team members from the ‘MIGHTEE’ collaboration. She describes her experiences of first...
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EVSN - Six-Exoplanet System in Resonance, Challenges Formation Theories
The 365 Days of Astronomy
From January 27, 2021. It’s a day ending in ‘y’, and planetary formation theories are once again being challenged. This time the challenge comes from a six-planet system with five planets in resonance. Plus a cloudless Jupiter, TRAPPIST-1, volcanoes, and some science of the weird. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------...
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Space Stories - Second Landing
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by Dr. Pamela Gay. A gentle fancy for the Christmas Season—an oft-told tale with a wistful twistful of Something that left the Earth with a wing and a prayer. Earlier today, I had the stark realization that at the core of many Christmas stories is a core of sorrow or longing that must somehow be transformed into joy. Scrouge must learn charity. Ralphie longs for a bb gun and is betrayed by his joy. George is on the brink of suicide when his Guardian Angel intercedes. John McClane just needs to keep his wife alive (yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie). Over and over, the holiday...
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Space Stories - Solstice: When the Sun Stands Still
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by our Director, Avivah Yamani! What does “solstice” really mean? In this episode, we unpack the Sun’s yearly turning point, the seasonal flip between hemispheres, and the ancient sky-architecture of Stonehenge, from June solstice sunrise to December solstice sunset. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go...
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Deep Astronomy - The Largest Galaxy in the Universe: IC 1101
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by Tony Darnell. From Sep 21, 2012. This video was done by request from a Space Fan. Hope it's what you had in mind. IC 1101 is over one billion light years away in the constellation Virgo, just over the border from Serpens. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit for cool Astronomy Cast and...
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Line
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Hosted by: Fraser Cain ( ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay ( ) Streamed live on Dec 15, 2025. Atomic hydrogen is the raw material for stars, but there’s a problem. It’s cold & dark, but it can do a very rare trick, releasing a photon in a very specific wavelength, known as the 21 centimeter line. And thanks to this wavelength astronomers have mapped out star forming regions across the Milky Way, the Universe and into the Dark Ages! This forbidden transition of Hydrogen has led to the mapping of galaxy rotation, a cool classroom application of quantum mechanics, and weirdly no Nobel prize. In...
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Travelers in the Night Eps. 359E & 360E: One in 100,000 & Finding Spacerocks
The 365 Days of Astronomy
Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. From October 2025. Today's 2 topics: - Friday the 13th appears to continue to be a lucky day for the human race. When astronomers first discovered Apophis in 2004 it appeared possible that this 3 million ton, 1,200 foot diameter asteroid traveling at 8 mi/s could impact our planet creating a crater a several miles diameter and more than a half mile deep. Additional observations over the years have eliminated this possibility...
info_outlineThe Observer’s Calendar for December 2023!
Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan.
- Patreon Calendar Draw reminder!
- Dec 4 - Mercury at greatest elongation in evening sky 21°
- Dec 5 - Last quarter Moon
- Dec 6 - Curtis X visible - Day of Darkness
- Dec 9 - Venus 4° North of Moon
- Dec 10 - Try to spot Uranus at M=5.7 this week in Aries
- Dec 12 - New Moon
- Dec 13/14 - Geminid Meteor Shower peaks - ZHR = 120!
- Dec 14 Mercury 4° north of the Moon — not here…at least in my software.
- Dec 17 - Saturn 2° N of Moon in Aquarius
- Dec 19 Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter?
- Dec 20 - Lunar Straight wall & First Quarter Moon
- Dec 21 - Winter Solstice and Jupiter 3° South of the Moon
- Dec 22 Ursid Meteor Shower Peaks - ZHR = 10
Asteroid Metis 9 at 8.4 magnitude opposition. Discovered by Andrew Graham on 25 April 1848, at Markree Observatory in Ireland. Metis (minor planet designation: 9 Metis) is one of the larger main-belt asteroids. It is composed of silicates and metallic nickel-iron, and may be the core remnant of a large asteroid that was destroyed by an ancient collision. Metis is estimated to contain just under half a percent of the total mass of the asteroid belt.
- Dec 26 Full Moon
- Dec 28 Asteroid 5 Astraea at Opposition! 5 Astraea is an asteroid in the asteroid belt. Its surface is highly reflective and its composition is probably a mixture of nickel-iron with silicates of magnesium and iron. It is an S-type asteroid in the Tholen classification system. Astraea was the fifth asteroid discovered, on 8 December 1845, by Karl Ludwig Hencke and named for Astraea, a Greek goddess of justice named after the stars. It was his first of two asteroid discoveries. The second was 6 Hebe. A German amateur astronomer and post office headmaster, Hencke was looking for 4 Vesta when he stumbled on Astraea. The King of Prussia awarded him an annual pension of 1,200 marks for the discovery.
- Dec 30 Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter YES!
Concluding Listener Message: Just a reminder for our Patreon Calendar Draw, all you need to do is be a Patreon Supporter to be placed in our draw. Thanks to everyone for listening and you can always send us your show ideas, observations and questions to:
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