Friday, December 23, 2011

The Night After Christmas Sky Show

Dec. 23, 2011:T'was the Night after Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring ...

...because everyone was outside watching the planets align?

It's true. On Dec. 26th, the night after Christmas, Venus and the slender crescent Moon will gather for a jaw-dropping conjunction in the western sky.

Night After Christmas (splash)
A Venus-Moon conjunction photographed in Nov. 2011 by Thad V'Soske of Fruita, CO. The "Night After Christmas" conjunction will look about the same. Copyright: T. V'Soske/Cosmotions.com

The action begins shortly before sunset. Around 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm local time, just as the sky is assuming its evening hue, Venus will pop into view, glistening bright in the deepening twilight. No more than 6 degrees to the right lies the crescent Moon, exquisitely slender, grinning like the Cheshire cat with his head cocked at humorous attention. This is a wonderful time to look; there are very few sights in the heavens as splendid as Venus and the Moon gathered close and surrounded by twilight blue.

MORE: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/23dec_nightafter/

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
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* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
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* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
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