Bashkortostan residents will witness unique astronomical phenomena

In December, residents of Bashkortostan will be able to witness several unique astronomical phenomena, according to the Ufa City Planetarium.

At the beginning of the month, Jupiter will rise at 8 p.m., and at the end of the month, at 6 p.m. As a very bright star, it will be visible at night high above the southern horizon in the constellation Gemini. In the morning, it will be visible in the west, low above the horizon.

Saturn will be visible in the evening in the south, low above the horizon in the constellation Aquarius, standing out among the stars in this region for its brightness. It will be set to 2 a.m. at the beginning of the month and to midnight at the end of December.

Venus and Mars will not be visible due to their proximity to the Sun, with which they will conjunct on January 6 and 9, respectively.

Mercury will be visible in the morning. On December 8th, it is at its greatest angular distance from the Sun—21 degrees—and around this date it is at its best visibility. It rises two hours before sunrise and, as a bright star, is visible before dawn in the southeast, low above the horizon in the constellation Libra.

As for constellations, the constellations Aquarius (which contains Saturn), Capricornus, Cetus, Pisces, and Aries are visible above the southern horizon in the evening. High in the sky are the autumn constellations of Pegasus, Andromeda, and Triangulum.

The winter constellations rise above the eastern horizon: Orion with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel, Taurus with Aldebaran, Gemini with Castor, Pollux, and Jupiter, Auriga with Capella, and Perseus is visible high above the horizon. In the west, the constellations of the summer sky are leaning toward the horizon: Hercules, Lyra with Vega, Cygnus with Deneb, Aquila with Altair, and the smallest constellations of the sky: Vulpecula, Sagitta, Delphinus, and Equus.

Above the northern horizon, the Big Dipper of the constellation Ursa Major will be visible. Connecting the two outer stars of the Dipper and continuing upward, we arrive at Polaris, which belongs to Ursa Minor. Polaris points north. Between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor stretches the constellation Draco.

Author: Ksenia Kalinina