Tuesday morning December 26th the innermost planet, Mercury, will be in a somewhat close conjunction with the heart of the Scorpius the Scorpion, the reddish star Antares. The two will be separated by about 8o and will be a bit too far apart to fit within the field of view of binoculars. Mercury has an apparent magnitude of -0.03 as compared with Antares 1.03 apparent magnitude.
Looking higher above the horizon toward the south the planets Jupiter and Mars are visible as well as the blue-white star Spica in Virgo the Harvest Maiden. With a line-up of planets and Spica it is easy to visualize the ecliptic, the apparent path the Sun follows eastward throughout the year.
Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.
