Orion leads the way as the bright winter stars flood the eastern sky. Joining him are Aldebaran, Pollux, Procyon, Sirius and mighty Jupiter. Saturn slides into the southwestern sky, while Mercury makes a bright appearance at dawn during the first half of the month. Mars and Venus are out of commission, too close to the sun and lost in its glare.

The month’s biggest event is the annual Geminid meteor shower, which occurs in a dark, nearly moonless sky the night of Dec. 13-14. Bundle up and spend an hour or two watching fragments shed by the asteroid Phaethon strike the atmosphere and incinerate in a flash. Wows await!

We also have two fine opportunities to see the star Algol in the constellation Perseus the hero undergoes a stellar eclipse. These occur every 2.9 days when Algol B, its lar

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