If you're looking for an awesome gift that's free this year, just look to the night sky where the Christmas moon line up with four bright planets.
The young crescent moon will shine with Jupiter and other planets over the next few days. There is a diagonal line from the south to the southwest.
The planets make a holiday visit.
If your sky is clear, all you have to do is look to the southwest to see the moon and Jupiter. Mercury and Venus can be seen at sunset if you have a clear horizon.
"From the 25th to the 31st, look to the southwest following sunset to see an increasingly full Moon slip past Saturn and then again past Jupiter," NASA wrote in a guide (opens in new tab). "Viewers with a clear view to the horizon will be able to search for Venus and Mercury in the fading glow of sunset, just a few degrees above the skyline."
If you're hoping to observe the moon and planets, our guides for the best telescopes and best binoculars have gear tips to help you get started. If you're looking to photograph the night sky, check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography. Read on to see how to see the moon and planets from Dec. 25 to Dec. 29 below.
The sky show begins about 45 minutes after sunset in the southwestern sky as the moon and planets align in a diagonal pattern.
The new moon will be about 20 degrees above the horizon. It covers about 10 degrees of the night sky.
The moon will be seen just to the left of it. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, will shine higher up in the night sky than the moon.
Venus and Mercury are low in the sky on Christmas night, so it's hard to see them.
Venus shines just below and to the right of Mercury in the sky as seen from the crescent moon.
The night sky will continue to give even after Christmas is over.
In a conjunction, the moon and Saturn will appear to be close together. The two planets will be so close this year.
On Monday night, the moon and Saturn can be seen in the sky by the southwestern horizon. They are not close enough to see each other in a telescope.
The moon will return to its position in the diagonal alignment with the other planets by Tuesday night.
The moon will be higher in the sky around 45 minutes after the sun sets. Mercury and Venus are not visible high up in the sky.
You can see all the planets in a diagonal line in the sky from Jupiter high in the south to Venus low in the southwest.
On December 27th, the moon will be above both Mercury and Jupiter.
On Wednesday the moon shines a bit higher in the night sky.
The crescent moon will be visible just below Jupiter about 45 minutes after the sun sets. The stars Fomalhaut and Altair can be seen to either side of the planet alignment.
The moon will move past Jupiter by Thursday, taking its place at the top of the diagonal alignment that has dominated the southwestern night sky this week.
The quarter phase of the moon will be reached on December 29th.
You can see a change at the bottom of the planet tableau. On December 29th, Mercury will shine just to the right of Venus, with both very low on the southwest horizon.
There is a look at the moon's trip through the planets.
The moon will be visible above the four planets over the next few days.
If you take a picture of the moon and planets, you can send it to Space.com's readers.
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