Winter 2021 Prairie Sky Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Full Moon

December 7th December 14th December 21st December 29th January 6th January 12th January 20th January 28th February 4th Febuary 11th Febuary 19th Febuary 27th March 5th March 13th March 21st March 28th

December January To use this chart, hold it face-down, above your head, Saturn and Jupiter very close 3rd-4th Quadrantid meteor shower so that the directions match your surroundings. in evening sky! 13th-14th Geminid meteor shower December15th 12:00 AM 21st Winter Solstice January 1 11:00 PM 21st Jupiter and Saturn N January 15th 10:00 PM conjunction February 1st 9:00 PM March February 15th 8:00 PM 3rd Mars close to Pleiades March 1st 7:00 PM 14th Daylight Saving Time begins 20th Spring Equinox

DRACO

CEPHEUS

LITTLE

BIG DIPPER DIPPER Polaris CASSIOPEIA

URSA Andromeda Double Galaxy GREAT MAJOR Cluster SQUARE PERSEUS

AURIGA ANDROMEDA Capella LEO PEGASUS GEMINI E Beehive Pollux W Cluster Castor Pleiades Cluster ARIES Regulus TAURUS Mars

Mar Feb Jan CANCER Aldebaran Procyon Betelgeuse Mars joins CANIS ORION the dazzling MINOR Orion stars of the Nebula CETUS winter sky, Rigel adding its own Sirius orange color to “M-41” that of bright red Cluster stars like Aldebaran and Betelgeuse. In CANIS January, after months of LEPUS delight, Jupiter and Saturn MAJOR are lost to the Sun’s glare Look for these with until late March when they will binoculars: rise ahead of the Sun.Venus does the reverse, leaving the predawn sky Beehive cluster in Cancer early to emerge in the evening sky M-41 cluster in Canis Major later in the Orion Nebula in Orion’s sword year. Pleiades cluster in Taurus Double Cluster in Perseus Andromeda Galaxy in Andromeda Milky Way star clouds visible from clear, rural skies S

For Planetarium schedules and more information about the night sky, call the “showline” at 217/351-2446, or check out our website at www.parkland.edu/planetarium