Moon, Venus and Jupiter

Moon, Venu and Jupiter

Tight Triangle.

Moon, Venu and Jupiter
Tight Triangle.

All Is Bright for Jupiter, Venus

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

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, found at www.earthsky.org/skywatching. The podcast link is on the right side of the page.

All Is Bright for Jupiter, Venus
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/...

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

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, found at www.earthsky.org/skywatching. The podcast link is on the right side of the page.