:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 11.30.2008 ::

:: All Is Bright for Jupiter, Venus ::

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.
Washington Post

Unwrap a bounty of night-sky gifts this holiday season: visible planets, glorious conjunctions, a close-up full moon and a change of season.

Jupiter and Venus begin December in conjunction at dusk in the southwestern sky. If the sky remains clear, the Jupiter-Venus conjunction, officially occurring tomorrow night, will be spectacular. Venus is the brighter of the two planets, and it remains high in the southwest throughout December, while the gaseous Jupiter descends the western horizon all month.

The full moon Dec. 12 will be at its closest (356,556 kilometers, or 221,554 miles) to Earth since 1993, and the full moon won't be this close again until 2016. Once a month the moon gets close to Earth at perigee, but sometimes the monthly lunar perigee coincides with the full moon. On Jan. 1, 2257, the full moon will be closer than this year's event -- at 356,371 kilometers, or 221,439 miles -- according to Belgian astronomer and mathematician Jean Meeus. Concerning this phenomenon, the radio program "Earth and Sky," by Deborah Byrd and Joel Block, provides excellent details on its Dec. 12 podcast.

Saturn, the beloved ringed planet, is a late night owl. It rises before 1 a.m. in the southeast now, while at the end of the month it rises about 11 p.m. Its rings are nearly edge-on, and the planet is found in the constellation Leo.

The official start to winter in the Northern Hemisphere -- the Winter Solstice -- occurs at 7:04 a.m. Eastern Time on Dec. 21, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Before long, our short days will start to get longer.

A L S O
Venus, Jupiter will 'shine' on Monday night
Slendor, crescent moon will illumninate two brightest planets

posted by me

:: 4:54:00 AM [+] ::
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