Celestial Events Tomorrow

January 16 - Mars at Opposition The red planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Mars. A medium-sized telescope will allow you to see some of the dark details on the planet's orange surface. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal05.jpg

January 13 - Full Moon The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 22:28 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Wolf Moon because this was the time of year when hungry wolf packs howled outside their camps. This moon has also been know as the Old Moon and the Moon After Yule. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal02.jpg

January 10 - Venus at Greatest Eastern Elongation The planet Venus reaches greatest eastern elongation of 47.2 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the bright planet in the western sky after sunset. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal05.jpg

December 30 - New Moon The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 22:28 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal01.jpg

December 25 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 22 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal05.jpg

December 21 - December Solstice The December solstice occurs at 09:17 UTC. The South Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its southernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.44 degrees south latitude. This is the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal08.jpg

December 15 - Full Moon The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 09:03 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Cold Moon because this is the time of year when the cold winter air settles in and the nights become long and dark. This moon has also been known as the Long Nights Moon and the Moon Before Yule. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal02.jpg

December 7 - Jupiter at Opposition The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details in Jupiter's cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter's four largest moons, appearing as bright dots on either side of the planet. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal05.jpg

November 17 - Uranus at Opposition The blue-green planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal05.jpg

November 16 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation of 22.5 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal05.jpg

November 15 - Full Moon, Supermoon The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 21:30 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It has also been known as the Frosty Moon and the Dark Moon. This is also the last of three supermoons for 2024. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal02.jpg

November 1 - New Moon The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 12:49 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/assets/images/astrocal01.jpg