A thin crescent moon appears early Monday morning an hour before sunrise, low in the southeastern sky. The moon is right under the distant planet Mars. Mars lacks all the brilliance it had a year ago but it is still the brightest star in the moon’s immediate vicinity.
For most of us, we haven’t seen Mars since last summer when it graced the southwestern sky just after sunset. Since summer Mars has passed around behind the sun and shifted to the morning sky. Both the Moon and Mars are in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius, a constellation we associate with summer.
Venus, the brightest planet in our evening sky, appears low in the southwestern sky after sunset. The planet can be viewed for about an hour or more after sunset, and then it too sets in the west.
Winter solstice arrives officially tomorrow night at 11:19 p.m.
| Day | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 20 | 7:04 | 4:13 |
| Sat., Dec. 21 | 7:05 | 4:14 |
| Sun., Dec. 22 | 7:05 | 4:14 |
| Mon., Dec. 23 | 7:06 | 7:15 |
| Tues., Dec. 24 | 7:06 | 4:15 |
| Wed., Dec. 25 | 7:06 | 4:16 |
| Thurs., Dec. 26 | 7:07 | 4:17 |
| Fri., Dec. 27 | 7:07 | 4:17 |
| Day | Max (Fº) | Min (Fº) | Inches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 13 | 42 | 20 | 0.00 |
| Dec. 14 | 59 | 42 | 1.04 |
| Dec. 15 | 57 | 42 | 0.12 |
| Dec. 16 | 49 | 30 | 0.00 |
| Dec. 17 | 36 | 30 | *0.26 |
| Dec. 18 | 42 | 31 | *0.48 |
| Dec. 19 | 37 | 15 | 0.00 |
Comments
Comment policy »