The moon lights the way to the Red Planet tonight (Jan. 12) as the two objects make a close approach to each other in the evening sky. If you gaze up at the moon after dusk, Mars will be easy to spot — weather permitting, of course — and will look like a yellow-orange star nearby.
In the southwestern sky after dusk on Saturday, January 12, the nearly half-illuminated moon will pass 5 degrees (about a palm's width) to the lower left of medium-bright, reddish Mars. By the time the duo sets at about 11:30 p.m. local time, the sky's rotation will carry the moon higher and to the planet's left.
On January 12 to 13, 2019 – use the waxing crescent moon to locate Mars, the fourth planet outward from the sun, and the next planet outward from Earth.
VENUS AND JUPITER IN CONJUNCTION: In case you haven't noticed, the day is beginning with bright lights rising in the east. The sun? No. It's Venus and Jupiter, converging for a beautiful conjunction in the pre-dawn sky.
In the mornings ahead, Venus and Jupiter will draw closer and closer together, putting on a better show with each successive sunrise. At closest approach on Jan. 22nd, they will be only 2.5 degrees apart--a double beacon in the dawn sky visible even from brightly-lit cities.
This is a special conjunction. Not only are Venus and Jupiter the two brightest planets, but also they are converging while Venus is near its maximum elongation (greatest apparent distance) from the sun. As a result, the gathering is visible almost a full hour before daybreak.
The two celestial treats are visible worldwide and they can be seen with the naked eye.
Clear skies everyone!
Clips, images credit: ESA/HUBBLE, NASA/JPL
Music credit: YouTube Audio Library
Touching Moment - Wayne Jones
Borderless - Aakash Gandhi
0 Comments