Hey, Area Placers!
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE SKY TONIGHT RIGHT AT SUNSET AND THROUGH THE NIGHT!
CHECK YOUR WEATHER FOR TONIGHT!
Why? As a result of the Full Chilly Moon – the final Full Moon for 2022 – will meet with brilliant, reddish coloured planet Mars, excessive overhead in our sky.
The Full Chilly Moon happens at 11:08 p.m. EST and is aptly named for the chilly temps we really feel within the Northern Hemisphere as Winter approaches and happens on the Winter Solstice, December twenty first, 4:48 p.m. EST. The Winter Solstice marks our shortest quantity of daylight for the 12 months because the Solar is at its lowest level within the sky. The Solar then begins its each day climb larger into the sky for the following three months resulting in Spring.
On the time the Full Chilly Moon happens the planet Mars will likely be VERY near the Moon within the sky. For a lot of North America, however alas not the DMV, The Moon will truly move in entrance of Mars, or occult the Crimson Planet. For the DMV Mars will likely be a lot lower than a finger-width away from the underside of the Moon and closest at about 10:43 p.m. EST. When you’ve got binoculars or a small telescope with a large view eyepiece the view will likely be fairly hanging.
The occultation of Mars by the Full Chilly Moon will likely be live-streamed by various organizations so seek advice from the EarthSky article to select one.
Earth may also move immediately between Mars and the Solar tonight at 11:00 p.m. marking the opposition of the Crimson Planet. The 2 planets had been closest to at least one one other on December 1st at a distance of about 51 million miles. Mars will proceed to be brilliant in our sky for the following few weeks after which start to drag away from Earth and begin to dim.
Oh, and make sure you tune in Sunday at 11:00 a.m. EST for NASA’s protection of the splashdown of Artemis I off the coast of San Diego, CA. The uncrewed mission to the Moon has been “image” excellent thus far by way of the Orion spacecraft’s efficiency and the literal “out of this world” footage it has taken.
I’ll be at sea subsequent week headed for the Caribbean through the Bermuda Triangle and I’ll be looking out for the Geminid Meteor Bathe. The height would be the evening of December 13-14 . I’ll have extra on that subsequent Monday.
Sky Man in VA
