Tag: Witchcraft

23 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 Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

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

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on December 23 has an illumination of 84%. 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 23 the Moon is 18.67 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: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 84%
Moon Age: 18.67 days
Moon Angle: 0.51
Moon Distance: 393,665.54 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,139,505.29 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

Southeastern Hemisphere

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

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

Sun:01 Capricorn 37
Moon:16 Leo 20
Mercury:14 Capricorn 56
Venus:26 Capricorn 11 Rx
Mars:06 Sagittarius 54
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 54
Saturn:10 Aquarius 59
Uranus:11 Taurus 07 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 32
Pluto:25 Capricorn 40
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 20 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 00 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 29
Chiron:08 Aries 27
Ceres:29 Taurus 43 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 25
Juno:14 Capricorn 01
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 49
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:2
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

 

Southwestern Hemisphere

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

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

Sun:02 Capricorn 12
Moon:23 Leo 33
Mercury:15 Capricorn 51
Venus:26 Capricorn 05 Rx
Mars:07 Sagittarius 19
Jupiter:29 Aquarius 00
Saturn:11 Aquarius 03
Uranus:11 Taurus 06 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 33
Pluto:25 Capricorn 41
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 17 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:29 Taurus 58 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 33
Chiron:08 Aries 27
Ceres:29 Taurus 38 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 32
Juno:14 Capricorn 14
Vesta:20 Sagittarius 08
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:8
Air:4
Water:2
Cardinal:7
Fixed:6
Mutable:6

December 22 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 Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

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

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on December 22 has an illumination of 90%. 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 22 the Moon is 17.75 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: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 90%
Moon Age: 17.75 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 397,558.42 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,147,863.00 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

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

Sun:01 Capricorn 01
Moon:09 Leo 10
Mercury:14 Capricorn 01
Venus:26 Capricorn 17 Rx
Mars:06 Sagittarius 30
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 48
Saturn:10 Aquarius 56
Uranus:11 Taurus 08 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 32
Pluto:25 Capricorn 39
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 23 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 01 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 26
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 48 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 17
Juno:13 Capricorn 47
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 30
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:2
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7
Obliquity of the Nine Planets

Northwestern Hemisphere

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

December 22, 2021
11:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM CST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:01 Capricorn 19
Moon:12 Leo 45
Mercury:14 Capricorn 29
Venus:26 Capricorn 14 Rx
Mars:06 Sagittarius 42
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 51
Saturn:10 Aquarius 57
Uranus:11 Taurus 07 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 32
Pluto:25 Capricorn 39
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 22 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 01 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 27
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 46 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 21
Juno:13 Capricorn 54
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 40
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:2
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

December 22 Today In History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1790 Supposedly impenetrable Turkish fortress of Izmail stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92)

1877 Thomas Edison‘s Phonograph is announced by Scientific American

1885 Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan

1989 After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu

1990 Lech Wałęsa sworn in as Poland’s 1st popularly elected president

2010 Repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy”, a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the US military, signed into law by President Barack Obama

Today’s Historical Events

401 St. Innocent I begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1135 Norman nobles recognize Stefanus van Blois as English king

1216 Pope Honorius III delegates decree “Religiosam vitam eligentibus”

1465 Peace of St Truiden: Louis van Bourbon becomes bishop of Liège

1536 English scholar Reginald Pole appointed cardinal

1596 Ferryboat Meuniers crashes in Paris, 150 die

1642 Pope Urbanus VIII publishes decree In eminente

1666 The French Academy of Sciences, founded by Louis XIV with Jean-Baptiste Colbert first meets in the Kings Library

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1932 “The Mummy” directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff is released in the US – 1st Mummy horror film

1948 KPIX TV channel 5 in San Francisco, California (CBS) begins broadcasting

1952 WSBA (now WPMT) TV channel 43 in York, PA (IND) begins broadcasting

1957 KWRB (now KFNE) TV channel 10 in Lander-Riverton, WY (ABC) begins

1964 American comedian Lenny Bruce is convicted of obscenity

1965 “Doctor Zhivago” based on the novel by Boris Pasternak, directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie premieres in NYC

1966 WCVW TV channel 57 in Richmond, VA (PBS) begins broadcasting

1967 “The Graduate” American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, is released (Best Director 1968)

Today’s Historical Music Events

1808 Beethoven‘s Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Choral Fantasy and Piano Concerto No. 4 (featuring the composer as soloist) premiere at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria

1894 Claude Debussy‘s first orchestral masterpiece “Prélude à l’apres-midi d’un faune” premieres in Paris

1946 “Bal Negre” closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 54 performances

1956 “New Faces of 1956” closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 221 performances

1958 “Chipmunk Song” reaches #1

1958 “Whoop-Up” opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 56 performances

1976 “Your Arm’s Too Short…” opens at Lyceum NYC for 429 performances

1976 East Germany grants rock singer Nina Hagen her request to leave the country, after refusing her stepfather re-entry

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1877 “American Bicycling Journal” begins publishing (Boston, Mass)

1888 Heavyweight boxing champ John L. Sullivan challenges Jake Kilrain

1894 United States Golf Association forms in New York

1915 Organized baseball and Federal League sign a peace treaty at Cincinnati; Federal Baseball League dissolves

1917 In the NHL’s first official week of play, 3 players score hat tricks in the same game, for the same team; Corb Denneny, Reg Noble, & Harry Meeking each score 3 for the Toronto Arenas in an 11-4 win over the Ottawa Senators

1923 Bill Ponsford & Edgar Mayne make 456 opening stand for Vict

1924 Babe Dye of NHL’s Toronto St Patricks scores 5 goals beat Bruins 10-2

1941 1942 NFL Draft: Bill Dudley from University of Virginia first pick by Pittsburgh Steelers

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 22

Launch of the IXPE Observatory

Image Credit & Copyright: Jordan Sirokie

Explanation: Birds don’t fly this high. Airplanes don’t go this fast. The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even comprehend what is going on, nor could any human just a millennium ago. The launch of a rocket bound for space is an event that inspires awe and challenges description. Pictured here, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida earlier this month carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). IXPE is scheduled to observe high-energy objects such as neutron stars, black holes, and the centers of distant galaxies to better determine the physics and geometries that create and control them. From a standing start, the 300,000+ kilogram rocket ship lifted IXPE up to circle the Earth, where the outside air is too thin to breathe. Rockets bound for space are now launched from somewhere on Earth every few days.

 

Launch Update: James Webb Space Telescope

22 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 Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

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

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on December 22 has an illumination of 90%. 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 22 the Moon is 17.75 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: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 90%
Moon Age: 17.75 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 397,558.42 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,147,863.00 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

Southeastern Hemisphere

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

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

Sun:00 Capricorn 36
Moon:04 Leo 06
Mercury:13 Capricorn 22
Venus:26 Capricorn 20 Rx
Mars:06 Sagittarius 12
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 43
Saturn:10 Aquarius 53
Uranus:11 Taurus 08 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 32
Pluto:25 Capricorn 38
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 26 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 03 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 23
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 52 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 12
Juno:13 Capricorn 38
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 17
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:2
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

 

Southwestern Hemisphere

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

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

Sun:01 Capricorn 11
Moon:11 Leo 13
Mercury:14 Capricorn 17
Venus:26 Capricorn 15 Rx
Mars:06 Sagittarius 37
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 49
Saturn:10 Aquarius 57
Uranus:11 Taurus 07 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 32
Pluto:25 Capricorn 39
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 23 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 01 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 27
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 47 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 19
Juno:13 Capricorn 51
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 36
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:2
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

Summer Solstice Printable Coloring Pages

Celebrate Summer Solstice and Connect With Nature Through These Rituals

After a long and seriously unforgiving winter, folks in the Northern Hemisphere are finally reaping the benefits of summer, as June 21 marks the official 2021 summer solstice. Many of us are already marking our calendars with beach days, hikes, and picnics galore — but if you’re looking to tap into the spiritual aspect of the seasonal shift, there are several solstice rituals you can do to welcome summer, in all its glory.

From gifting friends with sachets as a natural mosquito deterrent, to enjoying a seasonal feast of locally-grown goodies, there are so many fun ways to welcome and celebrate summer, sustainably.

Printable Games for Children – Summer

Happy and Blessed Winter Solstice

December 21 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 Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

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

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on December 21 has an illumination of 95%. 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 21 the Moon is 16.84 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: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 95%
Moon Age: 16.84 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 400,784.30 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,156,969.76 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

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

Sun:00 Capricorn 00
Moon:27 Cancer 02
Mercury:12 Capricorn 27
Venus:26 Capricorn 23 Rx
Mars:05 Sagittarius 47
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 37
Saturn:10 Aquarius 50
Uranus:11 Taurus 09 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 31
Pluto:25 Capricorn 37
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 29 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 05 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 19
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 58 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 04
Juno:13 Capricorn 24
Vesta:18 Sagittarius 58
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:3
Cardinal:8
Fixed:4
Mutable:7

Northwestern Hemisphere

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

December 21, 2021
11:00 pm GMT 5:00 PM CST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:00 Capricorn 18
Moon:00 Leo 34
Mercury:12 Capricorn 55
Venus:26 Capricorn 22 Rx
Mars:06 Sagittarius 00
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 40
Saturn:10 Aquarius 51
Uranus:11 Taurus 09 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 31
Pluto:25 Capricorn 37
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 27 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 04 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 21
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 55 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 08
Juno:13 Capricorn 31
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 07
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:2
Cardinal:7
Fixed:5
Mutable:7

Happy and Blessed Summer Solstice

Winter Solstice Spell

8 Rituals For The Winter Solstice 2021: How To Make Your Own Light

Take a deep breath as we enter this time of the winter solstice on December 21 in the northern hemisphere. Think of it as a sacred gateway: an ending and a new beginning. With all the noise of 2021, it is time for some much-needed quiet and inner nourishment. Mother Nature is asking us to reflect, recalibrate, and strengthen our ability to shine in the world.

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and the longest night. At this time, many cultures believe that the archetypal Great Mother gave birth to a sun child (the Egyptian deity Isis gave birth to sun god Horus; the Greek Leto gave birth to a shining Apollo.) This is a moment to hold the light for yourself and others. Here are eight rituals to help you do so.

1. Turn off the lights.

On the night of the solstice, unplug your phone, TV, and tablets. Instead of turning on electric lights, eat dinner by candlelight and…

Click here to read the rest of the article from mindbodygreen.com

Winter solstice 2021: Why it happens and how we celebrate the first day of winter

For the past six months, the days have grown shorter and the nights have grown longer in the Northern Hemisphere. But that’s about to reverse itself.

Winter solstice 2021, the shortest day of year and the official first day of winter, is on Tuesday, December 21. How it all works has fascinated people for thousands of years.

First we’ll look at the science and precise timing behind the solstice. Then we’ll explore some ancient traditions and celebrations around the world.

From msn.com

Printable Winter Solstice Coloring Pages

December 21 Today In History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore at in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS=Dec 11]

1898 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium

1968 Apollo 8: 1st manned Moon voyage launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders

1988 Lockerbie disaster: A terrorist bomb destroys Pan Am Flight 103 mid-air, over Scotland; kills all 259 passengers and crew on board, and 11 people on the ground [1]

1991 Soviet Union formally dissolves as 11 of 12 republics sign treaty forming Commonwealth of Independent States

Today’s Historical Events

1163 Hurricane hits villages in Holland/Friesland, causing floods

1561 Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, Archbishop of Mechelen, made Cardinal

1582 Flanders adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping 11 days making the next day Jan 1, 1583

1598 Battle of Curalaba: the Mapuche people led by Pelentaru revolt and inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile

1620 Mayflower Pilgrims come ashore at in Plymouth Bay, traditionally thought to be at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts [OS=Dec 11]

1650 Johan de Witt installed as Dutch Pensionary of Dordrecht

1784 John Jay becomes acting US Secretary of State (1789-90)

1788 Hue Tay Son becomes emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1914 1st feature-length silent film comedy “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” released starring Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin

1925 “Battleship Potemkin”, Soviet silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein, starring Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barksy and Grigori Aleksandrov, premieres in Moscow

1933 Fox Films signs Shirley Temple aged 5, to a studio contract

1934 French film “Zouzou” premieres in Paris, starring Josephine Baker; 1st black woman to star in a major motion picture

1937 The first full-length animated feature film and the earliest in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre

1949 “Samson and Delilah”, directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature, premieres in New York

1952 WSBT TV channel 22 in South Bend, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting

1953 KOMU TV channel 8 in Columbia, MO (NBC/PBS) begins broadcasting

Today’s Historical Music Events

1920 Jerome Kern/BG DeSylva’s musical “Sally” premieres in NYC

1941 David Diamond’s 1st Symphony premieres

1945 “Billion Dollar Baby” opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 219 performances

1946 “If the Shoe Fits” closes at Century Theater NYC after 20 performances

1950 Cole Porter‘s musical “Out of this World” premieres at New Century Theater NYC; runs for 157 performances

1960 Ornette Coleman records his influential album “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation”, establishes the name for the Free Jazz sound

1961 Beatles record “Sweet Georgia Brown” & “Ready Teddy”

1968 Glen Campbell‘s album “Wichita Lineman” goes to #1 in the US

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1891 1st game of basketball, based on rules created by James Naismith, played by 18 students in Springfield, Massachusetts

1918 Red Sox trade Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore & Duffy Lewis to Yankees for Ray Caldwell & Slim Love, Frank Gilhooey, Al Walters & $15,000

1925 Test batsman Hunter “Stork” Hendry scores career best unbeaten 325 for Victoria against New Zealand in drawn tour match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

1926 Soccer team DOS Struggle forms

1932 Giants sign former outfielder Billy Southworth as a coach

1936 Bradman‘s 2nd consecutive Test Cricket duck! Australia all out for 80

1937 O’Reilly completes 14-98 for cricket match, NSW v South Aust

1937 Chicago Black Hawks left wing Paul Thompson becomes first player in NHL history to score a goal against his brother; scores on bro Cecil of the Boston Bruins with just 9 seconds left in regulation; Bruins win though, 2-1

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 21

Solstice Sun and Milky Way

Composite Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Seip (TWAN)

Explanation: Welcome to December’s solstice, first day of winter in the north and summer for the southern hemisphere. Astronomical markers of the seasons, solstice and equinox dates are based on the Sun’s place in its annual journey along the ecliptic, through planet Earth’s sky. At this solstice, the Sun reaches its maximum southern declination of -23.5 degrees today at 15:59 UTC, while its right ascension coordinate on the celestial sphere is 18 hours. That puts the Sun in the constellation Sagittarius in a direction near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, if you could see today’s Solstice Sun against faint background stars and nebulae (that’s really hard to do, especially in the daytime …) your view might look something like this composited panorama. To make it, images of our fair galaxy were taken under dark Namibian night skies, then stitched together in a panoramic view. From a snapshot made on 2015 December 21, the Sun was digitally overlayed as a brilliant star at today’s northern winter solstice position, close to the center of the Milky Way.

 

Discovery + Outreach: Graduate student research position open for APOD

21 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 Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with an illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9pm and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

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

Today’s Waning Gibbous Phase

The Waning Gibbous on December 21 has an illumination of 95%. 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 21 the Moon is 16.84 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: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 95%
Moon Age: 16.84 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 400,784.30 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,156,969.76 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

Southeastern Hemisphere

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

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

Sun:29 Sagittarius 35
Moon:22 Cancer 01
Mercury:11 Capricorn 48
Venus:26 Capricorn 25 Rx
Mars:05 Sagittarius 30
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 33
Saturn:10 Aquarius 47
Uranus:11 Taurus 10 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 31
Pluto:25 Capricorn 36
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 31 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 06 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 16
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:00 Gemini 02 Rx
Pallas:13 Pisces 59
Juno:13 Capricorn 15
Vesta:18 Sagittarius 44
Eris:23 Aries 44 Rx
Fire:5
Earth:5
Air:6
Water:3
Cardinal:7
Fixed:3
Mutable:9

Southwestern Hemisphere

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

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

Sun:00 Capricorn 10
Moon:29 Cancer 03
Mercury:12 Capricorn 43
Venus:26 Capricorn 22 Rx
Mars:05 Sagittarius 54
Jupiter:28 Aquarius 39
Saturn:10 Aquarius 51
Uranus:11 Taurus 09 Rx
Neptune:20 Pisces 31
Pluto:25 Capricorn 37
True Lunar Node:01 Gemini 28 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:00 Gemini 04 Rx
Lilith (Black Moon):17 Gemini 20
Chiron:08 Aries 26
Ceres:29 Taurus 56 Rx
Pallas:14 Pisces 06
Juno:13 Capricorn 28
Vesta:19 Sagittarius 03
Eris:23 Aries 43 Rx
Fire:4
Earth:7
Air:5
Water:3
Cardinal:8
Fixed:4
Mutable:7