Late Nov & through Dec Sky sightings

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Real Player required.

 

Moon/Mars/Venus/Saturn

 

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[starsinmyeyes 0]

Thanks for letting us know!

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Thanks for letting us know!

No problem starsinmyeyes. :o

 

Tonight (12/01/03) the first of the three events occurs, 45 min after sunset, look for Mars to be very near the Moon. Depending on where in the world you are, you may even see the Moon eclipse Mars.

 

Tonight also begins the time for looking to find Mercury (very low horizon required.) 45 minutes after sunset find Venus in the SW sky, Mercury will be below and to the north of Venus. Over the next week if you view every night you will see Mer. creep upwards towards Venus then, over the course of the next few days fall back closer to the horizon.

 

The best viewing of the closest approach Saturn will be making for the next 30 years is still a week or so away from beginning but it never hurts to start early! Happy sky gazing!

[Yillara Skye 1]

Pretty cool, AE. :biggrin:

 

 

Personally I am hoping that a)the skies remain clear here, and B ) that there is a good count....the peak of the Geminids meteor shower is supposed to be late tonight/early morning tomorrow. the actual range was Dec 6 through the 19th.

Edited December 13, 2003 by Yillara_Soong

[A l t e r E g o 9]

the peak of the Geminids meteor shower is supposed to be late tonight/early morning tomorrow

 

:biggrin: Really? I had no idea, looks like I'm going to be awake early tomorrow.

 

As for the original info of this thread; the Moon Mars conjunction was a bust, they looked further apart than 5 degrees to me.

 

Where I live, I can't see the horizon so looking for Mercery with out taking a field trip is outta the question.

 

I'm still looking forward to seeing Saturns rings during the time of their greatest tilt towards earth in the next couple weeks and now the meteors, thanks for the heads up about them. :)

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Break out the telescopes for the best rings of Saturn viewing opportunity for the next 50 years or so. Tonight, (Dec 31st) Saturn reaches opposition with its rings tilted to Earth at maximum. Even a modest sized scope will present spectacular views. After tonight or perhaps tomorrow, the approaching Moon will begin to interfere with viewing for a week but then the viewing will be great till the last week of Dec or so. Go HERE for the full story.