Day: December 8, 2021

December 8 Daily Correspondence Digest for the Northern Hemisphere’s Moon Phase and Planetary Positions

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else, you know was on the date the person was born.

From Moongiant.com

The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing Crescent is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon’s surface. During this phase the Moon can be seen in the wester sky after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.

Visit the December 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Today’s Waxing Crescent Phase

The Waxing Crescent on December 8 has an illumination of 23%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On December 8 the Moon is 4.74 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Waxing Crescent
Illumination: 23%
Moon Age: 4.74 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 372,381.88 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,341,843.71 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

 

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Northeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe

8 December 2021
04:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM CEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:16 Sagittarius 47
Moon:16 Aquarius 49
Mercury:22 Sagittarius 02
Venus:24 Capricorn 17
Mars:26 Scorpio 42
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 28
Saturn:09 Aquarius 36
Uranus:11 Taurus 30 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 25
Pluto:25 Capricorn 14
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 38 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 46 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):15 Gemini 52
Chiron:08 Aries 30 Rx
Ceres:02 Gemini 28 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 37
Juno:08 Capricorn 31
Vesta:11 Sagittarius 56
Eris:23 Aries 47 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:7
Water:3
Cardinal:5
Fixed:5
Mutable:9

Northwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Chicago, Illinois, USA

December 08, 2021
11:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM CST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:17 Sagittarius 05
Moon:20 Aquarius 54
Mercury:22 Sagittarius 29
Venus:24 Capricorn 24
Mars:26 Scorpio 54
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 31
Saturn:09 Aquarius 38
Uranus:11 Taurus 30 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 25
Pluto:25 Capricorn 15
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 38 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 45 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):15 Gemini 54
Chiron:08 Aries 29 Rx
Ceres:02 Gemini 24 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 40
Juno:08 Capricorn 37
Vesta:12 Sagittarius 06
Eris:23 Aries 47 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:7
Water:3
Cardinal:5
Fixed:5
Mutable:9

The Winter Solstice

 

 

The Winter Solstice

The darkest day makes way for the return of light

 

Tarotcom Staff on the topics of winter solstice, videos, capricorn, astrology

December 21, 2015 marks the Winter Solstice, which is the official beginning of winter, and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. But there’s a light at the end of this tunnel — literally! As the temperatures fall throughout the winter, the light grows, representing new hope during a time of darkness.

Ancient solstice festivals were the last big feasts before food became scarce during the harsh winter months. This magical day was celebrated from ancient Rome to China, and by the builders of Stonehenge to the Mayans. In fact, we all remember the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2012, which was the apparent end of the Mayan calendar, causing many to believe the end of the world is coming. Obviously, we’re still here!

Many modern holiday traditions, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s, have their roots in the Winter Solstice celebrations of yesterday. Winter festivals continue today, complete with lights, feasts, dancing and singing, and spending quality time with those we love.

Astrologically, the Winter Solstice marks the moment the Sun — the ruler of the zodiac — moves from adventurous Fire sign Sagittarius to the steady Earth sign of Capricorn. This is the dark night of the year, a day when the Sun appears to stand still. It’s a time for light and laughter, but also deep reflection.

The Sun’s move into steady Capricorn urges us to take some time to look back on 2015 before we make those New Year’s resolutions. What did we do right? What do we wish we’d done differently? Don’t fight the seriousness it brings to the festive holiday season — use it to start 2016 on the right foot! Just make sure to keep some of the Goat’s ambitious energy alive when the Sun makes its next move.

Source:
Tarot.com is a Daily Insight Group Site

The Great Gift of Summer Solstice

December 8 Today In History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1863 Abraham Lincoln issues his Amnesty Proclamation and plan for Reconstruction of the South

1941 US and Britain declare war on Japan, US enters World War II

1941 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers “Day of Infamy” speech to US Congress a day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor

1965 Pope Paul VI signs 2nd Vatican council

1966 US and USSR sign treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in outer space

2004 Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the Union of South American Nations

Today’s Historical Events

1326 Daitokuji temple, Rinzai line, established in Kyoto by Daito Kokushi

1609 Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan opens its reading room, second public library in Europe

1659 Mexican border town Ciudad Juárez is founded by Fray García de San Francisco.

1710 Battle of Brihuega in the War of the Spanish Succession: British General James Stanhope captured by French & Spanish forces

1776 George Washington‘s retreating army crosses Delaware River from NJ

1777 Captain James Cook leaves Society Islands

1792 1st cremation in US: Henry Laurens

1794 1st issue of Herald of Rutland, VT published

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1857 1st production of Dion Boucicault‘s play “Poor of New York”

1949 “On the Town”, the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen, is released

1954 WPTZ TV channel 5 in Plattsburgh, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting

1955 Black Ealing comedy “The Ladykillers”, directed by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Alec Guinness is released in the UK

1960 Musical “Peter Pan”, starring Mary Martin broadcast, for a 3rd time, on NBC as a special event, videotaped in color for future rebroadcasts

1978 “The Deer Hunter”, directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1979)

1980 “Bravo” network premieres on cable TV

Today’s Historical Music Events

1813 Ludwig van Beethoven‘s 7th Symphony in A, premieres in Vienna with Beethoven conducting

1846 Hector Berlioz‘s “La Damnation de Faust” premieres

1849 Giuseppe Verdi‘s opera “Luisa Miller” premieres in Naples

1914 Irving Berlin‘s musical “Watch your Step” premieres in NYC

1915 Jean Sibelius‘ 5th Symphony in E premieres

1930 Cole Porter‘s musical “The New Yorkers” opens at B. S. Moss’s Broadway Theatre, NYC; runs for 169 performances

1947 “Caribbean Carnival” opens at International Theater NYC for 11 performances

1948 “Marinka” closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 168 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

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1940 National Football League Championship, Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Chicago Bears beat Washington Redskins, 73-0; most one-sided victory in NFL history; first NFL title game broadcast on national radio

1942 8th Heisman Trophy Award: Frank Sinkwich, Georgia (HB)

1948 14th Heisman Trophy Award: Doak Walker, SMU (HB)

1953 19th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Lattner, Notre Dame (HB)

1955 21st Heisman Trophy Award: Howard Cassady, Ohio State (HB)

1955 Brooklyn catcher Roy Campanella wins his 3rd MVP Award

1956 XVI Summer Olympic Games close in Melbourne, Australia; start of an Olympic tradition – amidst international tensions, athletes mingle together, parade into and around MCG arena for final appearance to close the Games

1959 President Eisenhower watches Pakistan v Aust Test Cricket at Karachi

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2021 December 8

Comet Hale-Bopp Over Val Parola Pass

Image Credit & Copyright: A. Dimai, (Col Druscie Obs.), AAC

Explanation: Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, became much brighter than any surrounding stars. It was seen even over bright city lights. Away from city lights, however, it put on quite a spectacular show. Here Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed above Val Parola Pass in the Dolomite mountains surrounding Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Comet Hale-Bopp‘s blue ion tail, consisting of ions from the comet’s nucleus, is pushed out by the solar wind. The white dust tail is composed of larger particles of dust from the nucleus driven by the pressure of sunlight, that orbit behind the comet. Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) remained visible to the unaided eye for 18 months — longer than any other comet in recorded history. The large comet is next expected to return around the year 4385. This month, Comet Leonard is brightening and may soon become visible to the unaided eye.