Another celestial treat to look out for in the run-up to Christmas.
This week Jupiter and Saturn are low in the southwest during the chilly December dusk. When this month began, they were separated by 2.1 degrees.
But in the days that followed, they have been slowly approaching each other; getting closer by about 0.1 degrees each day on their way toward the long-awaited “great conjunction” next Monday evening (Dec. 21). Their inching closer to each other will be further enlivened by the passage on Wednesday and Thursday evenings (Dec. 16–17) of a foreground waxing crescent moon.