<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=iso-8859-1"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=iso-8859-1"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=iso-8859-1"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; "></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Comets</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">* Comet C/2012 K5 LINEAR is traveling through the constellations of Auriga and Taurus, passing west of Orion into Eridanus this month. This comet is expected to glow around 10th magnitude dimming quickly to 14th magnitude by the end of the month, so dark skies will definitely be needed. The best time to catch comet K5 will be during the first week of January. On the evenings of the 2nd and 3rd, K5 passes between M36 and M37. A 6 to 8 inch telescope and dark skies will be needed to view this comet.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">* For information, orbital elements and ephemerides on observable comets visit the Observable Comets page from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (<a href="http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/Ephemerides/Comets/index.html"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(4, 51, 255); ">http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/Ephemerides/Comets/index.html</span></a>).</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">* For more information about Comets, visit Gary Kronk's <a href="http://Cometography.com">Cometography.com</a> web page at <a href="http://cometography.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; color: rgb(4, 51, 255); ">http://cometography.com/</span></a>.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Eclipses</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">* No eclipse activity this month.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Observational Opportunities</b></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">* Jupiter dominates the evening sky all month.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">* Venus and Saturn are prominent in the morning sky before sunrise.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">* The Quadrantids meteor shower peaks on the morning of the 3rd/4th.</span></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b></b></span><br></div><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial; "><span style="font-family: Helvetica; "></span></div></body></html>