Sydney Observatory night sky map December 2014 A map for each month of the year, to help you learn about the night sky www.sydneyobservatory.com.au This star chart shows the stars and constellations visible in the night sky for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth for December 2014 at about 7:30 pm (Local Standard Time) or 8:30 pm (Local Daylight Savings Time). For Darwin and similar locations the chart will still apply, but some stars will be lost off the southern edge while extra stars will be visible to the north. Stars down to a brightness or magnitude limit of 4.5 are shown. To use this star chart, rotate it so that the direction you are facing (north, south, east or west) is shown at the bottom. The centre of the chart represents the point directly above your head, called the zenith, and the outer circular edge represents the horizon. h t r o N Star Brightness Moon Phase Full Moon: 06th Zero or brighterCapella st Last quarter: 14th 1 AURIGA magnitude Deneb New Moon: 22nd nd LACERTA 2 PERSEUS CYGNUSFirst quarter: 29th rd N Andromeda Galaxy 3 E th ANDROMEDA W 4 N M45 (Pleiades or Seven Sisters) TRIANGULUM Hamal ARIES VULPECULA PEGASUS TAURUS TAURUS Aldebaran AldebaranHyades PISCES Moon on 29th DELPHINUS SAGITTA First point of Aries EQUULEUS Mira Altair Betelgeuse Betelgeuse ORION CETUS ORION AQUARIUS Orion's belt M42 ERIDANUS E Rigel AQUILA a t s Saucepan SCULPTOR Fomalhaut CAPRICORNUS s t FORNAX Moon on 23rd PISCIS AUSTRINUS e PISCIS AUSTRINUS Mars P LEPUS W PHOENIX GRUS MICROSCOPIUM ERIDANUS SCUTUM Sirius CAELUM Venus on 23rd Sirius HOROLOGIUMAchernar Achernar P COLUMBA SAGITTARIUS CANIS MAJOR TUCANA INDUS PICTOR RETICULUM Adhara SERPENS HYDRUS SMC SAGITTARIUS DORADO TELESCOPIUM Canopus LMC PAVO CORONA AUSTRALIS Tarantula Nebula MENSA OCTANS Galactic centre PUPPIS Centre of the Galaxy FALSE CROSS South Celestial Pole VOLANS SCORPIUS ARA CHAMAELEON APUS CARINA DIAMOND CROSS SCORPIUS Chart Key S TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE E NORMA W Bright star PYXIS MUSCA S Antares CIRCINUS NORMA Faint star POINTERS Eta Carina SOUTHERN CROSS CIRCINUS Ecliptic VELA Alpha Centauri Milky Way Hadar CRUX Mimosa P Planet LUPUS LMC or Large Magellanic Cloud South SMC or Small MagellanicANTLIA Cloud Summer solstice on the 22nd is the longest day of the year and gives Sydney 14 hours and 25 minutes of daylight. On 23rd at 8:45 pm Venus is near the thin crescent Moon low in the western sky. Mars remains visible low in the west during the early evening and is near the crescent Moon on the 25th. The best time to view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 29th. Crux (the Southern Cross) is just above the southern horizon making it difficult to locate. 2015 Australasian sky guide book Daily activities at Sydney Observatory The 2015 Australasian sky guide has details on the Sydney Observatory is open for night and day visits sky for the whole year, including rise and set times for every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the Sun, Moon and planets, and tidal information for Good Friday. Programs include telescope viewings, Sydney. Available from Sydney Observatory, the 3D space theatre and Sydney Planetarium sessions. Powerhouse Museum and good bookshops (RRP Bookings are essential for night telescope viewing. $16.95); also via mail order (postal charges apply) at Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks. www.powerhousemuseum.com/publications/ www.sydneyobservatory.com.au Ph (02) 9921 3485 Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum. The Sydney Observatory night sky map is prepared by Dr M Anderson using the software TheSky. © 2014 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney. .