The Nearly Bright-As-Day Winter Solstice Full Moon
Tags: Nature
Ever since the full moon at winter solstice a week ago my 2-year-old pooch Lily has gotten me up at odd hours, thinking that it's so bright out that it must be morning and time to get up. Last night she slept through the night, finally. The diminishing moon and cloud cover kept the night dark enough for solid slumber. Really, the night sky has been bright enough to see easily without lights up to a week later. Apparently, this past solstice was an unusually bright one, with the moon closer than normal.
The following is excerpted from Accuweather. "The full moon occurs Sunday evening around 8:17 PM eastern time. It will light up the sky quite nicely on Christmas Eve (Monday) due to it rising a bit higher than normal. This may not happen again until 2023, so don't miss it. Not far from the high flying moon, Mars will be shining at a fabulous -1.6 magnitude and will reach its opposition (the point at which Earth is directly between Mars and the Sun). This means that Mars will be visible all night long, and of course is still near Gemini. Those of you in northwestern Canada, Alaska, northern Russia, eastern Europe and the northeastern British Isles may be in for a treat of a different kind. The nearly full moon will appear to "occult" Mars Sunday night. Those of you in most other places will see the two very near to each other. Cool stuff. Get some pictures! Hoping for some clear(ish) skies here... " http://www.accuweather.com/news-blogs.asp?partner=accuweather&blog=astronomy
Also, on Stargazer "... mark these three dates on your calendar: December 22nd, 23rd and 24th. On December 22nd not only will an almost full Moon be at its very closest for the month but the 22nd is also the day of the winter solstice, the first day of winter. On the next day the 23rd the Moon is officially full and thus has the name Moon before Yule and will be the highest riding full Moon of any full Moon until December 26th of the year 2023. On top of which on December 24th the red planet Mars will be at its brightest and officially at opposition and up all night riding across the sky alongside both a full Moon and good old St. Nick. ... it gets even better because on Sunday Dec. 23rd if you go outside just after sunset and look east you will see an exquisite full Moon followed by the rouge gold planet Mars which right now is at its closest and brightest until 2016. And both Mars and the Moon will travel across the sky all night long side by side reaching their highest point between midnight and 1 a.m. And when I say highest point I mean highest because this full Moon will take the highest path of any full Moon across the sky until the year 2023. And Mars will take its highest path across the sky until the year 2040! " http://www.jackstargazer.com/scripts0SG0750.html Yes, I did see Mars and it was very bright and easily visible.
All this is pretty interesting for skywatchers. Next month we'll be following news of the asteroid that's headed toward Mars at the end of January, with a 1 in 75 chance of striking the red planet. Apparently that's big news so you'll be apprised of it regularly, whether you want to or not. It is not expected to threaten Earth but it may pass close by.
Ever since the full moon at winter solstice a week ago my 2-year-old pooch Lily has gotten me up at odd hours, thinking that it's so bright out that it must be morning and time to get up. Last night she slept through the night, finally. The diminishing moon and cloud cover kept the night dark enough for solid slumber. Really, the night sky has been bright enough to see easily without lights up to a week later. Apparently, this past solstice was an unusually bright one, with the moon closer than normal.
The following is excerpted from Accuweather. "The full moon occurs Sunday evening around 8:17 PM eastern time. It will light up the sky quite nicely on Christmas Eve (Monday) due to it rising a bit higher than normal. This may not happen again until 2023, so don't miss it. Not far from the high flying moon, Mars will be shining at a fabulous -1.6 magnitude and will reach its opposition (the point at which Earth is directly between Mars and the Sun). This means that Mars will be visible all night long, and of course is still near Gemini. Those of you in northwestern Canada, Alaska, northern Russia, eastern Europe and the northeastern British Isles may be in for a treat of a different kind. The nearly full moon will appear to "occult" Mars Sunday night. Those of you in most other places will see the two very near to each other. Cool stuff. Get some pictures! Hoping for some clear(ish) skies here... " http://www.accuweather.com/news-blogs.asp?partner=accuweather&blog=astronomy
Also, on Stargazer "... mark these three dates on your calendar: December 22nd, 23rd and 24th. On December 22nd not only will an almost full Moon be at its very closest for the month but the 22nd is also the day of the winter solstice, the first day of winter. On the next day the 23rd the Moon is officially full and thus has the name Moon before Yule and will be the highest riding full Moon of any full Moon until December 26th of the year 2023. On top of which on December 24th the red planet Mars will be at its brightest and officially at opposition and up all night riding across the sky alongside both a full Moon and good old St. Nick. ... it gets even better because on Sunday Dec. 23rd if you go outside just after sunset and look east you will see an exquisite full Moon followed by the rouge gold planet Mars which right now is at its closest and brightest until 2016. And both Mars and the Moon will travel across the sky all night long side by side reaching their highest point between midnight and 1 a.m. And when I say highest point I mean highest because this full Moon will take the highest path of any full Moon across the sky until the year 2023. And Mars will take its highest path across the sky until the year 2040! " http://www.jackstargazer.com/scripts0SG0750.html Yes, I did see Mars and it was very bright and easily visible.
All this is pretty interesting for skywatchers. Next month we'll be following news of the asteroid that's headed toward Mars at the end of January, with a 1 in 75 chance of striking the red planet. Apparently that's big news so you'll be apprised of it regularly, whether you want to or not. It is not expected to threaten Earth but it may pass close by.