At the end of November, the Moon passed near the planet Jupiter in the eastern evening sky. A diary was published at that time urging us to go outside and look.
BlueStateRedhead asked if that was the only opportunity to see the conjunction. I said it was not. The Moon would return in late December for another conjunction with Jupiter. It will look like this the evenings of the 24th-26th.
This time, the Moon will appear to pass even closer to Jupiter. Closest approach is on the evening of Christmas. On any of these evenings, get out your binoculars or a small telescope. Look at the craters of the Moon. View the Galilean Moons of Jupiter and its cloud belts. Look at the Pleiades. Check out the sword scabbard hanging below the belt of Orion. Steady your binoculars against something.
Below the fold are a few still images from my desktop planetarium. Please join me.
This first image looks to the east on Sunday December 23rd at 6 PM local time. Orion is rising at the bottom of the image. In the center is Taurus, the bull. The eye of the bull is the orange giant star Aldebaran in the exact center of the image. Jupiter has been in Taurus for several weeks. It is currently in retrograde (appearing to move backward, or west) because the Earth is passing it in orbit. Above them is the small open star cluster Pleiades, one of my favorites. Finally, at the top right is the Moon.

On Monday evening, the Moon has moved toward Jupiter. The path from the night before has been added. The Moon moves about that far to the east each day as it orbits Earth.

On the evening of Christmas, the Moon is less than 2˚ from Jupiter. The Moon is 0.5˚ wide. Depending on your location in the Americas, the pair could appear closer nearing occultation of Jupiter.

Here are the views for the next two evenings after Christmas. You might notice a slight movement of Jupiter between the five images. It is small but visible.


Mark your calendar. Add a notice to alert you each evening to go out and look at this Christmas treat. I hope you find it a peaceful and beautiful event. Look each night. Watch the movement of the Moon. Share the event with your family and neighbors.
Links you might like...
• My desktop planetarium is from Carina Software. Their SkyGazer Demo is free and good.
• I also like Stallarium. It is free and realistic and pretty easy to use.
• Online site of Heavens Above. Enter your location. It is free.
• Astronomy Picture of the Day is always an excellent resource.
Add any others that are your favorites in the comments section below. There are many.