The moon will go to Saturn for the final time of 2022 on Monday (Dec. 26) in a parting Christmas present in a twilight conjunction that can disappear from view earlier than evening units in.
Saturn and the moon will shine collectively southwestern sky, with the moon to the left of the ringed planet, which is the second largest planet within the solar system after its fellow gas giant Jupiter. The three-day outdated moon will seem 4 levels south of Saturn (for veteran skywatchers, you may discover them at a right ascension of 21 hours, 37 minutes, 20 seconds within the evening sky). Your closed fist held out at arm’s size covers 10 levels of the night sky.
The conjunction will develop into seen over New York Metropolis at round 4:53 p.m. EST (2152 GMT) because the sky darkens, showing at 29 levels above the horizon to the southwest, in keeping with In the Sky. (opens in new tab)
The moon and Saturn will then sink in the direction of the horizon earlier than disappearing at round 8:20 p.m. EST (0120 GMT on Dec. 27) round 3 hours and 47 minutes after the sun units.
Throughout the conjunction, the moon might be at magnitude -10.8 with the minus prefix indicating a vivid object within the sky over Earth, whereas Saturn can have a magnitude of 0.7. Each objects might be within the Capricornus constellation.
The conjunction might be seen with the bare eye or with a pair of binoculars, however regardless of their shut strategy, will nonetheless be too extensively separated to see with a telescope.
Should you’re hoping to look at the following conjunction of Saturn and the moon, our guides for the best telescopes and best binoculars are a fantastic place to begin. Should you’re seeking to snap pictures of the evening sky, take a look at our information on how to photograph the moon, as properly our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.
The sixth planet from the sun and 9 occasions wider than Earth, Saturn is one among 5 solar system planets vivid sufficient to be seen with the bare eye. The others are our planet’s shut neighbors Mars and Venus, the closest planet to the sun, and the solar system’s largest planet, the gas giant Jupiter.
With out assistance from a viewing instrument, Saturn seems as little greater than a speck of sunshine. Binoculars permit it to be resolved as a yellowy-brown blob, however the usage of a telescope actually highlights what’s arguably the planet’s most hanging function — the ring of Saturn.
According to NASA (opens in new tab), Saturn’s rings are believed to be composed of broken-up items of comets, asteroids, and even moons torn aside by the large gas giant’s gravitational affect. The chunks of ice and rock within the rings are coated with dust and vary from tiny grains to chunks as large as a home to even the odd mountain-sized lump.
The ring system of Saturn extends for an estimated 75,000 miles (282,000 kilometers) away from the gas giant however continues to be comparatively skinny having an estimated thickness of round simply 30 ft (10 meters).
The ring system consists of a number of separate rings labeled alphabetically within the order they have been first noticed, with the first brighter rings being A, B, and C. Rings D, E, F, and G are fainter and have been found extra lately. All these rings orbit Saturn at totally different speeds.
Skywatchers which might be too wrapped up in Yuletide reveling or current wrapping to look at the conjunction between the moon and Saturn simply two days earlier than Christmas can have one other probability on Jan. 23, when the 2 our bodies share the identical right ascension once more for the primary time in 2023.
Editor’s Notice: Should you snap the conjunction between Saturn and the Moon, and wish to share it with Area.com’s readers, ship your photograph(s), feedback, and your title and site to spacephotos@space.com.
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