Tonight – December 25, 2014 – the waxing crescent moon and red planet Mars appear in your sky at nightfall. As seen from around the globe, they are located more or less in the sunset direction. If you’re blessed with an unobstructed horizon, you might also catch the dazzling planet Venus. It’ll closer to the sunset point shortly before night falls, or around 45 to 60 minutes after sunset.
Because the Earth rotates on its axis from west to east, all the celestial bodies appear to travel westward in our sky, while the Earth seemingly remains at rest. Yet it’s really the Earth that’s doing the moving.
It’s as a result of Earth’s motion that Venus sets before nightfall. The moon and Mars sink beneath the horizon by around mid-evening. After mid-evening, look in the direction opposite the sunset to behold the brilliant planet Jupiter rising over your eastern horizon. It’ll be roughly 9 p.m. local time at mid-northern latitudes across the globe. No matter where you are on the globe, Jupiter will be up well before midnight. Once Jupiter climbs into the sky, the king planet will lord over the nighttime until dawn. Jupiter will reach its high point for the night around 3 to 4 a.m. local time.
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Jupiter is in front of the constellation Leo now. Watch for it near Leo’s star Regulus after mid-evening on these late December 2014 evenings. The stars around Regulus form a backwards question mark pattern, called The Sickle in skylore.
At mid-to-late evening tonight, don’t mistake that brilliant sparkly star Sirius in the southeast sky for Jupiter. Jupiter resides quite far north (or left) of Sirius, the famous Dog Star. Moreover, Jupiter outshines Sirius, even though Sirius ranks as the brightest star of the nighttime sky. Like any planet, Jupiter tends to shine with a steadier light than the twinkling stars.
Sirius sparkles in a wild array of color, especially when this star looms close to the horizon. If you’re familiar with the constellation Orion, you can verify that it’s Sirius that you’re looking at by drawing an imaginary line via Orion’s Belt.
Don’t mistake the bright star Sirius for Jupiter. You can always recognize Sirius because Orion’s Belt – here, the compact line of three stars above the tree – always points to it. In this photo, Sirius is the brilliant in the lower left. Image via abethebrewer
Bottom line: Watch for Venus exceedingly low in the sunset direction, within an hour after sunset. On Christmas night 2014, the moon is near Mars. After the moon and Mars set – in mid-evening – start watch for Jupiter to rise in the east and to light up the nighttime sky until dawn.
Live by the moon with your 2015 EarthSky lunar calendar!
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1z3ekLr
Tonight – December 25, 2014 – the waxing crescent moon and red planet Mars appear in your sky at nightfall. As seen from around the globe, they are located more or less in the sunset direction. If you’re blessed with an unobstructed horizon, you might also catch the dazzling planet Venus. It’ll closer to the sunset point shortly before night falls, or around 45 to 60 minutes after sunset.
Because the Earth rotates on its axis from west to east, all the celestial bodies appear to travel westward in our sky, while the Earth seemingly remains at rest. Yet it’s really the Earth that’s doing the moving.
It’s as a result of Earth’s motion that Venus sets before nightfall. The moon and Mars sink beneath the horizon by around mid-evening. After mid-evening, look in the direction opposite the sunset to behold the brilliant planet Jupiter rising over your eastern horizon. It’ll be roughly 9 p.m. local time at mid-northern latitudes across the globe. No matter where you are on the globe, Jupiter will be up well before midnight. Once Jupiter climbs into the sky, the king planet will lord over the nighttime until dawn. Jupiter will reach its high point for the night around 3 to 4 a.m. local time.
Donate: Your support means the world to us
Jupiter is in front of the constellation Leo now. Watch for it near Leo’s star Regulus after mid-evening on these late December 2014 evenings. The stars around Regulus form a backwards question mark pattern, called The Sickle in skylore.
At mid-to-late evening tonight, don’t mistake that brilliant sparkly star Sirius in the southeast sky for Jupiter. Jupiter resides quite far north (or left) of Sirius, the famous Dog Star. Moreover, Jupiter outshines Sirius, even though Sirius ranks as the brightest star of the nighttime sky. Like any planet, Jupiter tends to shine with a steadier light than the twinkling stars.
Sirius sparkles in a wild array of color, especially when this star looms close to the horizon. If you’re familiar with the constellation Orion, you can verify that it’s Sirius that you’re looking at by drawing an imaginary line via Orion’s Belt.
Don’t mistake the bright star Sirius for Jupiter. You can always recognize Sirius because Orion’s Belt – here, the compact line of three stars above the tree – always points to it. In this photo, Sirius is the brilliant in the lower left. Image via abethebrewer
Bottom line: Watch for Venus exceedingly low in the sunset direction, within an hour after sunset. On Christmas night 2014, the moon is near Mars. After the moon and Mars set – in mid-evening – start watch for Jupiter to rise in the east and to light up the nighttime sky until dawn.
Live by the moon with your 2015 EarthSky lunar calendar!
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1z3ekLr
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