Astronomers have just reported a new record for spotting distant objects in the universe, a galaxy that is located more than 12 billion light years away. Since it has taken light and radio emissions from the galaxy that long to reach the Earth, astronomers are “seeing” the galaxy as it was when the universe was only one-tenth its present age. The galaxy was located by radio signals that first had to be sorted out from more than 10,000 other emissions. “It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” said George Miley of Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. Once found, the galaxy’s distance was confirmed by comparing emission lines for carbon and hydrogen with those of objects whose distance is known. The farther objects are from Earth, the faster they are moving away and their spectra shift towards the red end of the spectrum, the so-called “red shift.” Said Roger of the University of Sussex, “The discovery will allow us to study galaxies as they formed in the universe’s infancy.”

FOCUS ON THE PLANETS

Jupiter and Venus shine brightly in the predawn sky during December where they are joined by an aging crescent moon later in the month. Mercury is at superior conjunction this month and lost to view. Venus rises about three hours before the sun and can be found high in the southeast at dawn. On Dec. 9, the “morning star” will reach a magnitude of minus 4.7, the brightest it ever gets. Mars comes up about 10:30 p.m. to start December and continues to brighten and rise earlier as the month progresses. Look for the “red planet” in the east embedded in the sickle of Leo the Lion. Jupiter emerges on the predawn eastern horizon to the lower left of Venus as December opens. By month’s end it will be well up on the horizon, a much dimmer companion to brilliant Venus. Saturn may be found in the south at nightfall nestled among the stars of Aquarius the Water Bearer. Look for the ringed planet early in the evening as it sets before midnight. Uranus and Neptune are very low in the southwest at sunset and will be barely discernable through the sun’s waning light. They will have disappeared by month’s end. Pluto is lost to view this month and will barely emerge from morning twilight by January.

FOCUS ON A CONSTELLATION

The eastern horizon plays host in December to the thoroughly undistinguished constellation of Cancer the Crab. One of the houses of the zodiac, or pathway of the sun through the heavens, Cancer consists of only a half dozen moderately bright stars but, because of its position, it has an ancient and rich mythology. The Egyptians saw in its configuration the form of the sacred scarab beetle, a symbol of birth, resurrection, and immortality. To the Greeks it was a crab sent by Juno to kill Hercules but who wound up instead being crushed beneath the mighty hero’s heel. Around 150 B.C., the summer solstice occurred in the Crab giving it an additional importance in the eyes of the ancients. In the middle of the constellation is a faint patch of light known as M44, Praesepe, or simply the Beehive cluster. When seen through a small telescope, the Beehive reveals itself to be a cluster containing several hundred stars. There is a story that says, if the cluster is invisible in an otherwise clear sky, there will be precipitation within twenty-four hours. Apparently fine ice crystals forming in the vanguard of an advancing storm system obscures the delicate light of the cluster before clouds arrive to block out the brighter stars.

December Events

1. Sunrise, 6:52 a.m.; sunset, 3:56 p.m.

2. New moon, 6:54 p.m. The new moon is also at perigee, or closest approach to the Earth, today and this coincidence could lead to very high tides.

8. Look for Saturn to the lower left of the moon tonight. Today also marks the earliest sunset for the year at our latitude.

9. Moon in first quarter, 4:06 p.m.

13. St. Lucy’s Day, once regarded as being the middle of winter.

17. Full moon, 9:17 p.m. The full moon of December is called the Moon Before Yule or the Long Night Moon.

18. Sun enters Sagittarius on the ecliptic.

21. Winter solstice, 9:27 p.m. This marks the farthest point in the sun’s southern trek and the official start of winter. The sun is entering the astrological sign of Capricornus at the solstice even though, astronomically, it has just entered Sagittarius.

25. Moon will be in its last quarter, 2:06 p.m. Merry Christmas!

29. If you are up an hour before dawn today, look toward the southeast for the thin crescent moon with Venus just above and Jupiter to the lower left.

31. Sunrise, 7:13 a.m.; sunset, 4:04 p.m.

Clair Wood is a science instructor at Eastern Maine Technical College and the NEWS science columnist.