Moondark for December: 2001: A Solar Odyssey
December is the darkest month of the year, with the Sun above our horizon at 39 degrees north latitude for only 294 hours. That sounds like plenty, but it falls far short of June’s 446 hours. The Sun reaches its most southerly declination at the winter solstice on the 21st of December. From there, the Sun journeys north, bringing longer and eventually warmer days.

These dark nights, too cloudy or too cold for observing, allow reflection on the past twelve months and anticipation for the upcoming year. I’m rather surprised to find that for me the past year’s notable events principally involved the Sun combined with travel for business and pleasure, hence the title of this month’s column.

Last Christmas day was memorable for its partial solar eclipse. This was my holiday treat in lieu of any astronomical stuffers in my stocking. In February on a Southwest roadtrip, I toured the solar telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The astronomers had shuttered the telescopes, the sky too hazy for their research observations. Too bad: overhead was one of the best solar halos I’ve ever witnessed and been lucky enough to photograph. 

The eleven-year cycle of solar activity peaked this year, bringing huge sunspots and vigorous “space weather.” While testing the club’stelescope and video system, I was able to image several sunspots for all to enjoy. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for the Sun to be as interesting again. 

Early in the morning on the last day of March, I lucked into my first really fine display of the Northern Lights, a direct result of a coronal mass ejection on the Sun several days earlier. I was mesmerized by the auroral glows, streaks and colors far too much to go inside for my camera. But while witnessing a pass of the space station on October 21st, I saw the familiar red glow in the north and attempted this time to capture the aurora borealis on film.

Our autumn this year has brought the region an abundance of unusually clear skies, and my early work schedule afforded me the opportunity to enjoy many beautiful sunrises. The most remarkable were those in late October when crepuscular rays--really shadows of clouds far over the ocean in this case--arched clear across the sky to meet the receding earth-shadow underlying the rose-colored belt of Venus.

And as recently as just last week, many gazers enjoyed the spectacular Leonid meteor display of vaporizing sand-sized bits of dust and rock driven off Comet Temple-Tuttle by Sun’s warmth. In upcoming events: we’ll come full-circle with the annular / partial solar eclipse on the 14th of this month... 

I’ve written of some of these events in past columns, but the photos at right are new and published here for you to enjoy a bit of the Sun in this darkest of months. And whether there are dark or bright skies overhead, I want to wish everyone all the best for a peaceful and prosperous 2002, and of course, clear skies!

On the other hand, the shortest days bring the longest nights. Plan your deep-sky observing in 2002 using next month's Deep Night and Moon Phase Calendar. Moondark is written by Doug Miller, published on the web, and printed in the Delmarva Star Gazers' Star Gazer News. Please address comments and suggestions to dcmiller@dmv.com. This document was last revised on 25 November 2001. All text and images copyright © 2001 Douglas C. Miller, All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without prior permission.