Tonight a thin waxing crescent moon appears low in the southwestern sky, right above the bright planet Venus. Both are in the zodical constellation Capricornus.
Tomorrow night, Saturday night, the moon has advanced along the zodiac and will appear close to the bright planet Saturn. Both are in Aquarius. The two are particularly close, and hard to notice. Earlier in the evening, in Europe, people will have watched the moon occult Saturn. They'll see the moon actually pass over Saturn. But for us on the Vineyard, that will already have happened.
Tomorrow morning, well before sunrise, you have an opportunity to see the planet Mercury close to the horizon. And you are being helped by a thin crescent moon, nearby.
The scene is made up of three celestial objects. The thin moon displays only a sliver of sunlight, a slender arc of sunlight. The shaded part of the moon might have a slight glow, called earth shine.
Closest to the moon and to the left is the bright red star Antares, the brightest star in the southernmost zodiacal constellation Scorpius.
There is a small but convenient meteor shower late on Saturday night. The center of the Ursid meteor shower is right up near the Little Dipper and the best time is before the moon rises later in the evening.
The brilliant moon passes near the bright planet Jupiter tonight and passes by it tomorrow nith. The moon is almost full tomorrow, or to be more precise it will be full Sunday at 4 o'clock in the morning. Having these two celestial objects rising in the eastern sky well after sunset will be an astronomical spectacle. The two are near the constellations Taurus and Gemini, the bright stars of the zodiac.
The biggest planet in our solar system will be at its closest to the Earth tomorrow. Jupiter is 380 million miles away, it's closest in a year.
Jupiter is big. And while it is close, its brilliance is not much brighter than usual. Being close helps, but the planet is so remarkably faraway and big, it really doesn't matter.
Mars is going to be our favorite planet in the New Year. If you haven't seen it lately, the time approaches when it will be at its brightest and prominent in our night sky. The planet comes up late in the night. Look after 10 p.m. for it rising in the east. Later is better.
Tonight's gibbous moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Leo. The moon is near the main star Regulus. The two rise together before midnight. Look tomorrow night and the last quarter moon appears right under Regulus.
Use these early nights to enjoy the brilliance of the stars and planets without the moon. Venus is low in the southwestern sky right after sunset. It is easy to spot and looks like an airplane approaching with landing lights on.
Farther south and more southwest is the ringed planet Saturn. The planet is pretty bright, though no match for the other planets.
We call tonight's full moon the Bay Scallop Moon. Take a look and you'll see the moon right next to the brilliant planet Jupiter. The two will be an impressive sight.
In many mainland communities the full moon is called The Beaver Moon. That doesn't make much sense here since we don't have, or have ever had as far as we know, beavers. But we've got plenty of bay scallops. And the story of our love for bay scallops is not to be matched.
Tomorrow night's first quarter moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Libra, the constellation of justice. It is an odd mythological object in the sky. Most constellations overhead depict creatures, animals and people and even fish. Libra is depicts an old-fashioned scale for measuring weights. In this case it is a scale, balancing justice as held by the Astraea, goddess of justice.
Mythological constellations were used as reminders not only of the greatness of the Gods but also the many stories of the time that were retold over and over again.
The brightest planet in the western sky, Venus now appears near Antares, the brightest red planet in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. The two are in the southwestern sky right after sunset. You'll have no trouble seeing Venus, it is so bright. Antares is right nearby.
