Just a reminder that as the year draws to a close there is a beautiful conjunction forming in the western sky.

Just after sunset we see Venus high in the southwest, shining through the last light of the day. Tonight (December 29th) a very slim crescent moon is low in the west and if you have a good horizon you can look for Jupiter and Mercury below and to the right of the moon. Use binoculars to scan through the glow of sunset, but make sure the sun is well down below the horizon before you start. Tomorrow (December 30th) the Moon will move up to the bottom right of Venus as it approaches the planet. Finally, on December 31st the Moon and Venus meet to make a beautiful pairing and Jupiter and Mercury also meet to complete this double conjunction night.

So if the weather is clear keep an eye on the sky starting now and bring in the new year with a look at this lovely sky.

Update: 31 Dec 2008 13:50 by Don Pullen
The CSC is indicating some clear skies tonight. If you find yourself at a dark location trying to observe the conjunctions, you may stick around for full darkness after the moon sets around 9pm. According to SpaceWeather.com, we are entering a solar wind stream which may provide some auroras visible from our latitude.