In December 2022, the Moon will cover two planets — Uranus and Mars. Both of these phenomena are clearly visible from all over Ukraine. Interestingly, the occultation of Mars on the morning of December 8 will almost coincide with its opposition, that is, as it be on November 8, we will witness a rather rare “alignment” of four objects of the Solar System almost in one line. Before that, the Red Planet will approach the Earth at the minimum distance this year.
![](https://universemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/occult_dec8.png)
On December 19, the perihelion comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) will take place, which be clearly visible in our latitudes until the beginning of September. Now it has a significant negative declination, so it can only be observed by residents of the Southern Hemisphere.
December 1
- Mars is closest to Earth in 2022 (0.54447 AU, 81.5 million km)
- The Moon is 4° south of Neptune (7,9ᵐ)
- The Moon is 4° south of Jupiter (-2.6ᵐ)
December 5
- The Moon occults Uranus (5,7ᵐ)
December 8
- Full moon.
- Mars is in opposition.
- The Moon occults Mars
December 11
- The Moon is 3° south of Pollux (β Gem , 1,2ᵐ)
December 12
- The Moon at Apogee., 405868 km from the center of the Earth
December 14
- The Moon is 4° north of Regulus (α Leo, 1,3ᵐ)
- Maximum activity of Geminid meteor shower (up to 100 meteors per hour)
December 16
- The Moon in the final fourth phase
December 19
- The Moon is 4° north of Spica (α Virgo, 1.0ᵐ)
- Comet C/2017 K2 PanSTARRS (5.5ᵐ) at perihelion, 1,797 AU (269 million km) from the Sun
December 21
- Mercury at greatest elongation east (20.1°)
December 22
- Maximum activity of the Ursida meteor shower
- Winter Solstice
December 23
- New Moon
December 24
- The Moon at perigee, 358270 km from the center of the Earth
- The Moon is 4° south of Venus (-3.9ᵐ) and 5° south of Mercury (-0.3ᵐ)
December 26
- The Moon is 4° south of Saturn (0.8ᵐ)
December 28
- The Moon is 4° south of Neptune (7,9ᵐ)
December 29
- The Moon is 3° south of Jupiter (-2.4ᵐ)
- Mercury (0.5ᵐ) is 1.5° north of Venus
December 30
- The Moon is in the phase of the first quarter
Follow us on Twitter to get the most interesting space news in time
https://twitter.com/ust_magazine