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Starshine, Moonshine, Planetshine, Earthshine Monday

Every once in a while, something will appear in the night sky that will attract the attention of even those who normally don’t bother looking up. It’s likely to be that way on Monday evening, Dec. 1.

A slender crescent moon, just 15 percent illuminated, will appear in very close proximity to the two brightest planets in our sky, Venus and Jupiter.

Via Venus, Jupiter will ‘shine’ Monday night – Space.com- msnbc.com

I noticed two bright “stars” on my way home the other night near the Moon; this must be Jupiter and Venus, setting up for Monday’s big show. I hope the skies are clear that night because it’s going to be a really beautiful sight.

Farther down in the article, there’s another interesting fact – it may be possible to see a phenomenon called “the old moon in the new moon’s arms.”

Also on Monday evening, you may be able to see the full globe of the moon, its darkened portion glowing with a bluish-gray hue interposed between the sunlit crescent and not much darker sky. This vision is sometimes called “the old moon in the young moon’s arms.” Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the first to recognize it as what we now call “earthshine.”

3 Comments on “Starshine, Moonshine, Planetshine, Earthshine Monday

  1. nice, can’t wait to see that
    i really hope the sky is clear that day.. im gonna go check the weather now 😀

  2. Oh damn! Tomorrow is supposed to be a snow storm, the skies will probably not be clear unless it finishes early.

    I hope I can see it, it’ll truly be beautifal. It’d be suckish to miss it.

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