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If the two bodies had come from the same place and were made of similar stuff to begin with, this would also explain how similar their composition is.' The surface of the Moon Jupiter will rise in the east at sunset and will be visible until dawn. It will shine near the pretty Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus the Bull. On November 1-2, 2023, it’ll reach perihelion – or closest point to the Earth– when the distance between the Earth and Jupiter will be 370 million miles (595 million kilometers). And the distance between the sun and Jupiter will be 462 million miles (744 million kilometers). Then, it will reach opposition overnight on November 2-3, 2023, when we fly between it and the sun. Jupiter lies in the dim constellation of Aries the Ram. It shines at -2.9 magnitude in November. The waxing gibbous moon will float by Jupiter on November 25, 2023. Chart via EarthSky. The semi-major axis of the geocentric lunar orbit, called the Lunar distance, is approximately 400,000km (250,000 miles or 1.28 light-seconds), comparable to going around Earth 9.5 times. [166]
Visit TheSkyLive for precise views from your location. Attention amateur astronomers! Guy Ottewell’s popular and informative Astronomical Calendar for 2024 is available in both electronic and printed versions. The moon will reach perigee– its closest point in its elliptical orbit around Earth – at 19 UTC (1 p.m. CST) on December 16, 2023, when it’s 228,603 miles (367,901 kilometers) away.
The instant of last quarter moon will fall at 5:49 UTC on December 5, 2023 (11:49 p.m. CST December 4). It’ll rise around midnight your local time the night before and set about 1 p.m. on December 5. December 8 and 9 mornings: Moon near Venus and Spica
Main articles: Tidal force, Tidal acceleration, Tide, and Theory of tides Simplified diagram of the Moon's gravity tidal effect on the Earth On average the Moon's surface gravity is 1.62 m/s 2 [4] ( 0.1654 g; 5.318 ft/s 2), about half of the surface gravity of Mars and about a sixth of Earth's. But following the night of each full moon, as the Moon orbits around Earth, we start to see less of the Moon lit by the Sun. Eventually, the Moon reaches a point in its orbit when we don’t see any of the Moon illuminated. At that point, the far side of the Moon is facing the Sun. This phase is called a new moon. During the new moon, the side facing Earth is dark. The instant of new moon will fall at 23:32 UTC (5:32 p.m. CST) on December 12, 2023. It’s a perfect time for stargazing – especially watching for Geminid meteors– under dark skies. The new moon rises and sets with the sun. December 13 and 14 all night: Geminid meteor shower
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See also: Lunar observation Libration, the slight variation in the Moon's apparent size and viewing angle over a single lunar month as viewed from Earth's north Guy Ottewell explains sky dome maps View larger. | Here is the sky dome view for November 2023. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location. Image via Guy Ottewell. Used with permission. View larger. | Here is the sky dome view for December 2023. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location. Image via Guy Ottewell. Used with permission. Heliocentric solar system planets
Almost all maria are on the near side of the Moon, and cover 31% of the surface of the near side [70] compared with 2% of the far side. [122] This is likely due to a concentration of heat-producing elements under the crust on the near side, which would have caused the underlying mantle to heat up, partially melt, rise to the surface and erupt. [75] [123] [124] Most of the Moon's mare basalts erupted during the Imbrian period, 3.3–3.7billion years ago, though some being as young as 1.2billion years [64] and as old as 4.2billion years. [65] Old hardened lava flows of Mare Imbrium forming wrinkle ridges The lunar surface is covered in lunar dust and marked by mountains, impact craters, their ejecta, ray-like streaks and, mostly on the near side of the Moon, by dark maria ("seas"), which are plains of cooled magma. These maria formed when large impacts on the far side of the Moon heated up low lying layers of its crust on the near side. Main articles: Selenography, Lunar terrane, List of lunar features, and List of quadrangles on the Moon Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt next to a large Moon boulder The thin waning crescent moon will move away from dazzling Venus and will pass the moderately bright star Zubenelgenubi in Libra the Scales on the morning of December 10. An even thinner crescent moon will hang near the horizon shortly before sunrise on the morning of December 11. Can you see a delicate glow on the unlit portion of the crescent moon? That’s earthshine! It’s reflected light from the Earth. Chart via EarthSky. December 12: New moonDuring the middle of December, brilliant Venus will slide by a moderately bright star with a name that’s fun to say: Zubenelgenubi. Zubenelgenubi means “Southern Claw” in Arabic. Many people used to consider this star as part of Scorpius the Scorpion. But today it’s part of Libra the Scales. Venus and Zubenelgenubi will be at their closest to each other on December 17. Chart via EarthSky. December 16 and 17 evenings: Moon near Saturn Waxing Crescent: In the Northern Hemisphere, we see the waxing crescent phase as a thin crescent of light on the right. The waning gibbous moon will slide by the famous – but dim – Beehive star cluster on the morning of December 2, 2023. You will need binoculars to spot the dozens of stars in the busy Beehive star cluster. The moon will also float between Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion and the twin stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini. They’ll rise late in the evening the night before and be high in the morning sky. Chart via EarthSky. The Moon is a differentiated body that was initially in hydrostatic equilibrium but has since departed from this condition. [71] It has a geochemically distinct crust, mantle, and core. The Moon has a solid iron-rich inner core with a radius possibly as small as 240 kilometres (150mi) and a fluid outer core primarily made of liquid iron with a radius of roughly 300 kilometres (190mi). Around the core is a partially molten boundary layer with a radius of about 500 kilometres (310mi). [72] [73] This structure is thought to have developed through the fractional crystallization of a global magma ocean shortly after the Moon's formation 4.5billion years ago. [74] The Moon makes a complete orbit around Earth with respect to the fixed stars, its sidereal period, about once every 27.3days. [h] However, because the Earth-Moon system moves at the same time in its orbit around the Sun, it takes slightly longer, 29.5days, [i] [70] to return at the same lunar phase, completing a full cycle, as seen from Earth. This synodic period or synodic month is commonly known as the lunar month and is equal to the length of the solar day on the Moon. [167]
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