dipper@utastro.UUCP (12/18/84)
You can look for the planet Saturn, now near the waning moon in the predawn sky. More on Saturn and the moon -- right after this. December 18 Saturn and the Moon on Saturnalia The moon is now waning -- visible in the sky only after midnight -- and appearing as a slimmer crescent with each new dawn. The planet Saturn now is also in the east before dawn -- a normally inconspicuous object -- like a medium-bright golden "star" to the naked-eye. It's usually hard to identify Saturn without a star chart -- but the planet becomes more noticeable Wednesday and Thursday morning because it's near the moon in the east before sunrise. The moon actually passes Saturn on the dome of the sky when our part of the Earth is turned away from these two worlds. So on Wednesday, we see the moon above Saturn in the east before dawn -- and on Thursday, we see the moon below Saturn. Saturn is of course moving in orbit around the sun -- but its motion across the dome of our sky is very slow compared to the moon. The moon's eastward motion in orbit around Earth carries it past Saturn in our eastern sky -- and finally will take it so far eastward that the moon will disappear in the glow of dawn. Then it'll be new moon -- due this coming Saturday. Saturn and the moon rendezvous in the east tomorrow just in time to observe an ancient Roman festival, called Saturnalia. This midwinter festival was originally on December 19 -- but gradually was extended to last seven days. It's possible that we celebrate Christmas on December 25 because of the Roman Saturnalia. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin
jlg@lanl.ARPA (12/18/84)
> The moon is now waning -- visible in the sky only after midnight -- and > appearing as a slimmer crescent with each new dawn. 'Waning' does not mean 'visible in the sky only after midnight' as the above statement seems to imply. The meaning is 'to get smaller', which starts immediately after the moon is full. The late gibbous moon is a waning moon and it rises shortly after sunset. Sorry to pontificate, but it's just as easy to get these things right. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The greatest derangement of the mind is to believe in something because one wishes it to be so - Louis Pastuer James Giles