Posted on 12/23/2007 8:01:07 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
For us in the U.S., the full moon is tonight.
And if you look outside you’ll see this full moon near a blazing reddish light in our sky. It’s the planet Mars. Flying through space at 18 miles per second, Earth is about to go between the sun and Mars. Earth will pass between Mars and the sun tomorrow. So the distance between us and Mars is now about at its least for this two-year period, and Mars won’t come anywhere near this close again until the year 2010.
That’s why Mars appears bright in our sky. It’s as bright as the brightest star, Sirius. And Mars is the brightest object near tonight’s moon. Be sure to look for Mars’ reddish color. By the way, tonight’s full moon is the full moon closest to the December solstice. Standing opposite the sun in our sky, tonight’s full moon closely mirrors the position of the June sun. In fact, this full moon is the northernmost full moon of the year.
For the northern hemisphere, the Full Long Night Moon – with Mars nearby – will climb high by midnight tonight. Just be sure to look for the very brilliant star-like object shining near the moon tonight.
By the way, the full moon comes at the same moment for everyone worldwide, but our clocks say different times. The December full moon falls at precisely 1:16 Monday morning Universal Time. In the Americas, the full moon falls during the evening hours tonight. For the world’s Eastern Hemisphere, it’ll be after midnight Monday when the moon turns full. No matter where you live, a full-looking moon shines from dusk till dawn tonight.
Looks good out there...is mars in the lower left ?
I hate the picture. An hour ago, Mars was on the upper right.
The picture may be inverted due to telescopic lenses.
I wondered what that little speck was next to the moon tonight! If I had known it was Mars, I would’ve waved to Dennis Kucinich’s relatives.
The picture is inverted due to telescopic lenses.
That was it..
See it good here in Alabama..Thanks,,
Glad to spread the news.
And if you look outside you’ll see this full moon near a blazing reddish light in our sky clouds, just like usual when some interesting astronomical event occurs.
There, fixed it.
I think he’s home for Christmas..
:0)
I usually miss them as well.
We got a beautiful view of it here in TN tonight. Mr G and I went out on the deck to appreciate it. In fact, from the moment the moon rose it was spectacular.
Wonderful that a few of us, from around the world, can marvel at the same stuff at the same time.
I managed to catch a glimpse between breaks in the clouds. Pretty cool.
And as usual, cold. Why can’t this stuff ever happen on a warm summer night?
It is fun to have others enjoy it with you. We have missed a lot of fun star stuff this year. We have had lots and lots of cloud cover, odd considering the depth of the drought we are in.
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