| Title: |
Jupiter - Mercury Conjunction |
| Location: |
Hawaiian Islands |
| Date / Time: |
Dec. 25th - January 4th |
| Comments: |
While we recently experienced a conjunction of Venus & Jupiter (from late November thru early December), watch for yet another "planetary gathering" as Jupiter pairs with Mercury, viewable from Dec.25th thru Jan. 4th. While brilliant Venus blazes high in the Southwestern sky after sunset, Jupiter & Mercury will appear lower toward the southwestern horizon, from around 6:40 PM until 7:15, when Jupiter sets.
On Monday night, Dec. 29th, look toward the southwest at 6:40. To view the low, lovely conjunction, you'll need a flat, cloudless view of the SW horizon. (Looking out to the ocean from south or west Kauai is ideal). Jupiter, (mag. -2.0) is quite bright (tho' not nearly as bright as Venus, mag. -4.4). As the sky darkens, Mercury (mag. -0.7) will appear just slightly SW of Jupiter. The slim crescent Moon will be just (NE) above the pair, between Venus & the conjunct planets.
On Dec. 30, the Moon moves up to visit Venus, well above Jupiter & Mercury, which will appear to be side by side. On Dec. 31, Jupiter & Mercury will still appear close, while the Moon will be just NE of Venus. Each night after Jan. 1st, Jupiter sinks lower in the western sky at sunset & becomes more difficult to see. Meanwhile, Mercury climbs higher until it reaches its January 4th eastern elongation (furthest distance from the Sun), when it's viewable for 90 minutes after sunset.
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Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii
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