EVENTS CALENDARDecember 10 Venus and Saturn Pairing December 11 Full "Cold" Moon December 13-14 Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks December 14 Star Party SBMNH 8:00-10:00 PM FREE ADMISSION December 15 FREE ADMISSION DAY SBMNH December 21 Winter Solstice aka Longest Night December 23- 28 Afternoon Low Tides December 26 New Moon December 27 Crescent Moon Pairs with Venus AFTERNOON LOW TIDES DURING WINTER VACATION - this is a great time for your family to visit the tide pools. 2019/12/23 Mon 2:09 PM -0.80 ft 2019/12/24 Tues 2:52 PM -1.13 ft 2019/12/25 Wed 3:33 PM -1.25 ft 2019/12/26 Thurs 4:14 PM -1.20 ft 2019/12/27 Fri 4:53 PM -1.02 ft 2019/12/28 Sat 5:33 PM -0.74 ft THE NIGHT SKY THIS MONTHThis month is the winter solstice and perihelion (the earth's closest orbit to the sun) is about two weeks later. This means that the earth is getting CLOSER to the sun but the days are SHORTER and cooler because the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. Notice we also have some very low tides during the days around the new moon. This is because the sun and moon are lined up together AND tides are more extreme in the winter because we are CLOSER to the sun thus increasing the gravitational pull. Some other fun observations to be made this month include the Geminid meteor shower which you may see despite the full moon because the showers are bright and active with as many as 50 per hour. Unfortunately, the best viewing is at 2 AM, but you may be able to see some meteors just after dark. For those of you with infants or insomnia enjoy your late night waking by viewing the showers. Super-bright Venus makes a lovely view when paired with Saturn early in the month and with the crescent moon towards the end of the month. TRY THIS AT HOMECLOUD IN A BOTTLE Finally the rain has come. Help your child understand the cloudy weather by making a cloud in a bottle. All you need is an Empty Liter Soda Bottle, Water, and Matches. This video explains how. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G70y90BVes4 MEDIA OF THE MONTHSpeaking of clouds check out this amazing video of weather on both sides of a mountain taken by mountain climbers. SCIENCE IN THE NEWS![]() Cause of Seasons by National Geographic www.youtube.com/watch?v=btcTfor-j-c
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Leise Thomason-BA Biology Brown University Categories |