December 12 Today In History

Today’s Important Historical Events

627 Battle at Nineveh: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius beats Sassanid forces during Byzantine-Sassanid War

1901 Guglielmo Marconi sends the first transatlantic radio signal, from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, Canada

1925 Last Qajar Shah of Iran deposed; Rezā Shāh Pahlavi takes over

1946 UN accepts 6 Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr

2000 US Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida’s 2000 presidential election in George W. Bush‘s favor and thus handing him the presidency

2015 COP21 climate change summit in Paris reaches a deal between 195 countries to limit the rise in the global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels

2019 British General Election won by Boris Johnson‘s Conservative Party in landslide win with 80 seat majority. Scottish National Party also wins 48 of 59 seats in Scotland

Today’s Historical Events

627 Battle at Nineveh: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius beats Sassanid forces during Byzantine-Sassanid War

1098 1st Crusaders capture & plunder Mara, Syria

1408 Order of the Dragon: The Order of the Dragon was first created on December 12, 1408 by Emperor Sigismund, then King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje following the battle for possession of Bosnia.

1474 Isabella crowns herself queen of Castile & Aragon

1479 Jews are expelled from Schlettstadt Alsace by Emperor Frederick III

1524 Pope Clement VII approves Organization of Jewish Community of Rome

1653 English “Barebones” Parliament ends

1677 Brandenburgs army occupies Stettin

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1897 Rudolph Dirks’ 1st “The Katzenjammer Kids” cartoon strip appears in NY Journal

1928 Robert Nichols and Maurice Browne’s play “Wings over Europe” premieres in New York City

1937 NBC & RCA sends 1st mobile-TV vans onto the streets of NY

1955 Film adaptation of “The Rose Tattoo”, starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster, premieres at the Astor Theatre in Times Square, NYC

1964 Shooting starts for “Star Trek” pilot “The Cage” (Menagerie)

1966 “A Man for All Seasons” based on the play by Robert Bolt, directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Paul Scofield premieres in New York (Best Picture 1967)

1968 Rolling Stones film TV show “Rock ‘n Roll Circus”-never aired

1977 “Saturday Night Fever“, a film starring John Travolta, premieres in NYC

Today’s Historical Music Event

1527 Composer Adrian Willaert moves from Milan to Venice

1792 In Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven (22) receives 1st lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn

1900 National Negro Anthem, “Lift Every Voice & Sing”, composed

1912 Rudolf Friml and Otto Harbach’s musical “Firefly” premieres in New York City

1920 Maurice Ravel‘s ballet “La Valse” premieres in Paris

1926 Dmitri Shostakovich‘s 1st Piano concert premieres in Leningrad

1965 The Beatles’ last concert in Great Britain (Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, Wales)

1981 “1st” closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 37 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1898 1st first-class cricket game between Australian states NSW and Tasmania

1899 George F Bryant of Boston patents the wooden golf tee

1908 Australasian Championships Men’s Tennis, Sydney: American Fred Alexander beats Alfred Dunlop of Australia 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3

1930 Baseball Rules Committee greatly revises the rule book, ball bouncing into stands not a HR, now a double

1933 Eddie Shore hits Toronto Maple Leaf star Ace Bailey from behind, fracturing his skull and ending his career

1936 1937 NFL Draft: Sam Francis from University of Nebraska first pick by Philadelphia Eagles

1937 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Washington Redskins beat Chicago Bears, 28-21

1937 1938 NFL Draft: Corbett Davis from University of Indiana first pick by Cleveland Rams

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 12

Comet Leonard Before Star Cluster M3

Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett

Explanation: Comet Leonard is now visible to the unaided eye — but just barely. Passing nearest to the Earth today, the comet is best seen this week soon after sunset, toward the west, low on the horizon. Currently best visible in the north, by late December the comet will best be seen from south of Earth’s equator. The featured image of Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) was taken a week ago from CaliforniaUSA. The deep exposure shows in great detail the comet’s green gas coma and developing dust tail. The comet — across our inner Solar System and only light-minutes away — was captured passing nearly in front of globular star cluster M3. In contrast, M3 is about 35,000 light-years away. In a week, Comet Leonard will pass unusually close to Venus, but will continue on and be at its closest to the Sun in early January.

 

Tomorrow’s picture: meteor mountain

11 December Daily Correspondence Digest for the Southern 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 

Today and tonight the Moon will be in a First Quarter phase. This phase occurs roughly 7 days after the New Moon when the moon is one quarter of the way through its orbit around the earth. Exactly half the moon will be illuminated and half dark. On the day of the First Quarter phase the moon is high overhead at sunset and is visible until mid-night when it sets in the west. The First Quarter phase is a one-day event and in the following days enters a Waxing Gibbous phase becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon.

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

First Quarter Phase

The First Quarter on December 11 has an illumination of 54%. 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 11 the Moon is 7.79 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: First Quarter
Illumination: 54%
Moon Age: 7.79 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 386,427.58 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,288,462.94 km

Useful Moon Resources

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

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

11 December 2021
06:00 am GMT 5:00 PM CEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:19 Sagittarius 24
Moon:21 Pisces 36
Mercury:26 Sagittarius 05
Venus:25 Capricorn 11
Mars:28 Scorpio 29
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 52
Saturn:09 Aquarius 50
Uranus:11 Taurus 26 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 26
Pluto:25 Capricorn 18
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 36
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 38 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):16 Gemini 10

Chiron:08 Aries 28 Rx

Ceres:01 Gemini 55 Rx
Pallas:12 Pisces 03
Juno:09 Capricorn 28
Vesta:13 Sagittarius 20
Eris:23 Aries 46 Rx

Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:6
Water:4
Cardinal:5
Fixed:4
Mutable:10

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

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

Sun:20 Sagittarius 00
Moon:29 Pisces 04
Mercury:27 Sagittarius 00
Venus:25 Capricorn 22
Mars:28 Scorpio 54
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 58
Saturn:09 Aquarius 53
Uranus:11 Taurus 25 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 26
Pluto:25 Capricorn 19
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 36
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 36 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):16 Gemini 13
Chiron:08 Aries 28 Rx
Ceres:01 Gemini 47 Rx
Pallas:12 Pisces 09
Juno:09 Capricorn 41
Vesta:13 Sagittarius 39
Eris:23 Aries 46 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:6
Water:4
Cardinal:5
Fixed:4
Mutable:10

December 10 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 10 has an illumination of 44%. 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 10 the Moon is 6.81 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: 44%
Moon Age: 6.81 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 381,570.88 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,305,560.68 km

Useful Moon Resources

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 10

Eclipse on a Polar Day

Image Credit & Copyright: Stephanie Ziyi Ye

Explanation: During polar day, in Arctic and Antarctic summer, the Sun stays above the horizon for periods of 24 hours or more. Recorded on December 4, this fisheye timelapse image tracks the Sun in multiple frames as it completes a circle in the summer sky above Union Glacier, Antarctica. Of course on that date, Union Glacier’s sky did grow dark even though the Sun was above the horizon. Captured during the brief period of totality, an eclipsed Sun is at bottom center of the composite view. Near the edge of the total eclipse path across planet Earth, the Moon’s shadow darkens the sky above.

10 December Daily Correspondence Digest for the Southern 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 10 has an illumination of 44%. 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 10 the Moon is 6.81 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: 44%
Moon Age: 6.81 days
Moon Angle: 0.52
Moon Distance: 381,570.88 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,305,560.68 km

Useful Moon Resources

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

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

10 December 2021
06:00 am GMT 5:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:18 Sagittarius 23
Moon:08 Pisces 29
Mercury:24 Sagittarius 31
Venus:24 Capricorn 52
Mars:27 Scorpio 48
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 43
Saturn:09 Aquarius 45
Uranus:11 Taurus 27 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 25
Pluto:25 Capricorn 17
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 36 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 41 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):16 Gemini 03
Chiron:08 Aries 29 Rx
Ceres:02 Gemini 07 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 53
Juno:09 Capricorn 06
Vesta:12 Sagittarius 48
Eris:23 Aries 47 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:6
Water:4
Cardinal:5
Fixed:4
Mutable:10

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

10 December 2021
08:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:18 Sagittarius 59
Moon:16 Pisces 11
Mercury:25 Sagittarius 26
Venus:25 Capricorn 03
Mars:28 Scorpio 12
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 48
Saturn:09 Aquarius 48
Uranus:11 Taurus 26 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 26
Pluto:25 Capricorn 18
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 36 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 39 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):16 Gemini 07

Chiron:08 Aries 28 Rx

Ceres:02 Gemini 00 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 59
Juno:09 Capricorn 19
Vesta:13 Sagittarius 06
Eris:23 Aries 46 Rx

Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:6
Water:4
Cardinal:5
Fixed:4
Mutable:10

For Your Viewing Pleasure – Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice from the Southern Hemisphere

For Your Viewing Pleasure – Winter Solstice

What happens during the winter solstice?

December Today In History

Today’s Important Historical Events

536 Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire

1212 Frederick II (later also Holy Roman Emperor) crowned King of Germany in Mainz

1968 NLS (a system for which hypertext and the computer mouse were developed) is publicly demonstrated for the first time in San Francisco.

1990 Lech Wałęsa wins Poland’s 1st direct presidential election in Poland

1992 Operation Restore Hope: US Marines land in Somalia

Today’s Historical Events

536 Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its empire

656 Battle of Kameel: Kalief Al ibn Abu Talib beats rebellion

730 Battle of Marj Ardabil, Turkic Khazar army led by Barjik defeats Umayyad force, with 20,000 killed including general al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah, whose head is mounted on a throne

1212 Frederick II (later also Holy Roman Emperor) crowned King of Germany in Mainz

1315 Swiss Woudsteden renews Eternal Covenant (Oath Society)

1425 Pope Martinus V forms University of Leuven

1570 The Geuzen (a confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles) under Herman de Ruyter occupies Loevestein

1625 Netherlands & England sign military treaty

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1960 1st broadcast of “Coronation Street” on British ITV

1965 “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, the first Peanuts animated special premieres on CBS in the US

1968 KRNE TV channel 12 in Merriman, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting

1968 Terence O’Neill, Northern Ireland Prime Minister, makes a television appeal for moderate opinion in what became known as the ‘Ulster stands at the Crossroads’ speech

1988 NY Yankees sign 12-year television contract with MSG for $500M

1988 Premiere of fact based crime drama film “Mississippi Burning”

1990 23rd NAACP Image Awards: “Coming to America” wins Outstanding Motion Picture

1997 “Tomorrow Never Dies“, 18th James Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh, premieres in London

Today’s Historical Music Events

1842 Mikhail Glinka’s opera “Russlan and Ludmilla” premieres at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia

1905 Richard Strauss‘ opera “Salome” premieres in Dresden

1954 Dmitri Shostakovich appointed honored guest of Royal Swedish Academy of Music

1961 “From the Second City” closes at Royale Theater NYC after 87 performances

1961 “Let It Ride” closes at Eugene O’Neill Theater NYC after 68 performances

1964 John Coltrane‘s Quartet records their greatest work “A Love Supreme” at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

1967 Jim Morrison arrested on stage for disturbing the peace at the New Haven Arena, Connecticut, making him the 1st rock star to be taken into custody during a performance

1973 “Pajama Game” opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 65 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1892 English football club Newcastle United founded

1913 Heavyweight Jack Johnson-Jim Johnson fight to no decision in Paris

1913 John K Tener becomes president of baseball’s National League

1922 1st Australasian Championships Women’s Tennis, Sydney: Margaret Molesworth wins inaugural title; beats fellow Australian Esna Boyd 6-3, 10-8

1922 Australasian Championships Men’s Tennis, Sydney: James Anderson wins 1st of 3 Australasian titles; beats fellow Australian Gerald Patterson 6-0, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

1925 AL extends Ban Johnson‘s contract to 1935 & raise to $40,000

1926 USGA legalizes steel shaft golf clubs

1931 Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players & NL continues to prohibit uniform numbers

December 9 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 9 has an illumination of 33%. 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 9 the Moon is 5.8 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: 33%
Moon Age: 5.80 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 376,795.45 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,323,356.20 km

Useful Moon Resources

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

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

Sun:17 Sagittarius 48
Moon:00 Pisces 38
Mercury:23 Sagittarius 36
Venus:24 Capricorn 40
Mars:27 Scorpio 23
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 38
Saturn:09 Aquarius 42
Uranus:11 Taurus 28 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 25
Pluto:25 Capricorn 16
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 37 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 43 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):15 Gemini 59
Chiron:08 Aries 29 Rx
Ceres:02 Gemini 15 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 47
Juno:08 Capricorn 53
Vesta:12 Sagittarius 29
Eris:23 Aries 47 Rx

Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:6
Water:4
Cardinal:5
Fixed:4
Mutable:10

Northwestern Hemisphere

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

December 09, 2021
11:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM CST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:18 Sagittarius 06
Moon:04 Pisces 35
Mercury:24 Sagittarius 03
Venus:24 Capricorn 46
Mars:27 Scorpio 35
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 40
Saturn:09 Aquarius 43
Uranus:11 Taurus 28 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 25
Pluto:25 Capricorn 16
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 37 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 42 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):16 Gemini 01
Chiron:08 Aries 29 Rx
Ceres:02 Gemini 11 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 50
Juno:08 Capricorn 59
Vesta:12 Sagittarius 38
Eris:23 Aries 47 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:6
Water:4
Cardinal:5
Fixed:4
Mutable:10

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 9

A Total Eclipse of the Sun

Image Credit & Copyright: Theo Boris, Christian A. Lockwood, David Zimmerman (JM Pasachoff Antarctic Expedition)
Compositing: Zev Hoover and Ronald Dantowitz (MARS Scientific)

Explanation: Few were able to stand in the Moon’s shadow and watch the December 4 total eclipse of the Sun. Determined by celestial mechanics and not geographical boundaries, the narrow path of totality tracked across planet Earth’s relatively inaccessible southernmost continent. Still, some enthusiastic and well-insulated eclipse chasers were rewarded with the dazzling spectacle in Antarctica’s cold but clear skies. Taken just before the brief totality began, this image from a ground-based telescope inside the edge of the shadow path at Union Glacier catches a glimmer of sunlight near the top of the silhouetted lunar disk. Look closely for the pinkish solar prominences arcing above the Sun’s limb. During totality, the magnificent solar corona, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, made its much anticipated appearance, seen in the composite view streaming far from the Sun’s edge.

9 December Daily Correspondence Digest for the Southern 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 9 has an illumination of 33%. 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 9 the Moon is 5.8 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: 33%
Moon Age: 5.80 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 376,795.45 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,323,356.20 km

Useful Moon Resources

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

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

9 December 2021
06:00 am GMT 5:00 PM AEDT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:17 Sagittarius 22
Moon:24 Aquarius 56
Mercury:22 Sagittarius 57
Venus:24 Capricorn 30
Mars:27 Scorpio 06
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 34
Saturn:09 Aquarius 39
Uranus:11 Taurus 29 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 25
Pluto:25 Capricorn 15
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 37 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 44 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):15 Gemini 56

Chiron:08 Aries 29 Rx

Ceres:02 Gemini 20 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 43
Juno:08 Capricorn 44
Vesta:12 Sagittarius 15
Eris:23 Aries 47 Rx

Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:7
Water:3
Cardinal:5
Fixed:5
Mutable:9
Obliquity of the Nine Planets

 

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for the Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

9 December 2021
08:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:17 Sagittarius 58
Moon:02 Pisces 53
Mercury:23 Sagittarius 52
Venus:24 Capricorn 43
Mars:27 Scorpio 30
Jupiter:26 Aquarius 39
Saturn:09 Aquarius 42
Uranus:11 Taurus 28 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 25
Pluto:25 Capricorn 16
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 37 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 42 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):16 Gemini 00
Chiron:08 Aries 29 Rx
Ceres:02 Gemini 13 Rx
Pallas:11 Pisces 49
Juno:08 Capricorn 57
Vesta:12 Sagittarius 34
Eris:23 Aries 47 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:4
Air:6
Water:4
Cardinal:5
Fixed:4
Mutable:10

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

 

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

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

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 KellyFrank 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 NiroChristopher 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’AmpezzoItalyComet 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.

For Your Listening Pleasure – Summer Solstice/Litha

~Litha~Summer Solstice Song~Lisa Thiel~

There is beautiful harmony in this song.

Blessed be dear ones.

Let’s Have Some Fun – Northern Hemisphere Yule/Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Ritual Potpourri

Recipe by Gerina Dunwich

20 drops musk oil

25 drops pine oil

1 cup oak moss

2 cups dried mistletoe

1 cup dried poinsettia flowers

1 cup dried bayberries

1/2 cup dried rosemary

1/2 cup dried holly leaves and berries

3 crushed pinecones

Mix the musk and pine oils with the oak moss, and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and store in a tightly covered ceramic or glass container.

(The above recipe for “Yule Ritual Potpourri” is quoted directly from Gerina Dunwich’s book “The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes”, page 162, A Citadel Press Book, Carol Publishing Group, 1994/1995)

 

Let’s Have Some Fun – Southern Hemisphere Litha/Summer Solstice

Magickal Activity for December 21, The Summer Solstice

Floating Candles

Midsummer is a celebration of light and life, symbolized by the flame of a candle and the movement of water. A large glass bowl filled with an assortment of floating candles makes a wonderful point of focus for ritual. Choose bright yellow sunflowers, white lilies, and red tulip-shaped candles. Have each person participating in the ritual inscribe his or her desire, with a pin, on a candle. Have each person come forward, place his or her candle in the bowl and light it as he makes his wish. Following the ritual, the bowl is placed outdoors, and the candles are left to burn out.

The Sun Wheel

One of the most popular symbols of Midsummer is the Sun Wheel, the turning of which suggests the turning, or progression, of the seasons. The Wheel is decorated with flowers, fresh herbs, and brightly colored ribbons.

The simplest method for making a Sun Wheel is to buy an already-prepared natural-branch wreath from an arts and crafts store. Affix small branches of rowan to form the spokes of the wheel (four spokes to represent the elements and cross-quarter days or eight to symbolize the eight Wiccan Sabbats). Use floral wire to attach fresh flowers and herbs to the wreath. Embellish with brightly colored ribbons. The wheel can be used as the focal point for your Midsummer rites or hung on the front door of your home for decoration.

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 7

Ninety Gravitational Wave Spectrograms and Counting

Image Credit: NSFLIGOVIRGOKAGRAGeorgia TechVanderbilt U.Graphic Sudarshan Ghonge & Karan Jani

Explanation: Every time two massive black holes collide, a loud chirping sound is broadcast out into the universe in gravitational waves. Humanity has only had the technology to hear these unusual chirps for the past seven years, but since then we have heard about 90 — during the first three observing runs. Featured above are the spectrograms — plots of gravitational-wave frequency versus time — of these 90 as detected by the giant detectors of LIGO (in the USA), VIRGO (in Europe), and KAGRA (in Japan). The more energy received on Earth from a collision, the brighter it appears on the graphic. Among many science firsts, these gravitational-radiation chirps are giving humanity an unprecedented inventory of black holes and neutron stars, and a new way to measure the expansion rate of our universe. A fourth gravitational wave observing run with increased sensitivity is currently planned to begin in 2022 December.