I hope you didn't miss the conjunction of the moon and Mars on Dec. 23. It was an awesome sight. The brilliance of the almost-full moon and the brightness of Mars seemingly a hairs width off to the side made for a lovely pair.

In binoculars it was even more awe inspiring. The moon took on an almost three dimensional aspect. With blazing red Mars nearby it was a tremendous sight.

If you did miss it you have a chance to redeem yourself. On the evening of Saturday, Jan. 19, The moon will once again take up a close position to Mars, although it won't be as close as it was in December. Nevertheless, it will be a sight worth looking at.

Mars is currently playing a part in another worthwhile sight. At present it is part of a triangle of red-colored celestial objects in the early evening sky.

Mars is residing just below the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. The two reddish companions in this triangle are the red giant star Betelgeuse which is the right shoulder star of Orion the Hunter and Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, the Bull.

Aldebaran is a giant star about 38 times the size of the sun and is 65 light years away. As impressive as those number sound, super giant Betelgeuse far exceeds them with a distance of 427 light years away at 800 times the size of the Sun.

It is worth a quick trip out into the cold backyard to take a peek at these three bright red objects.

SKY WATCH:

If you have a very clear southwest horizon Wednesday, try finding elusive Mercury. It will be very low to the horizon about 45 minutes after sunset.

There will also be a very thin one-day old moon lurking nearby. Binoculars will be needed. Since the conjunction of the moon and Neptune was clouded out last month we will have another opportunity on Thursday, Jan. 10. Again the very slender crescent of the just-past-new moon will be useful as a guide. Look in the southwest about an hour after sunset. The blue planet will be just over one degree above the moon.

Use the moon again to locate blue green Uranus on Saturday, Jan. 12.

Look down and to the left about a degree and a half from the moon's growing crescent. One degree is about the width of your little finger held at arm's length, or about two moon widths. The scene will fit nicely inside the field of view of your binoculars. Both Uranus and Neptune will appear as star like points in your binoculars. First quarter moon, Jan. 15.

Next time:

More astronomical blathering.