Starwatch: look out for a conjunction of the moon and Jupiter

There is a nice conjunction between the moon and Jupiter.

The view looks south from London at 17:30 on December 29th. The fish and the whale are near each other. The moon is approaching its first quarter phase and has 42% of its surface illuminated. On this night, its distance from the Earth will be over three hundred thousand kilometers. There will be a white spot next to the moon. The planet will be close to Earth.

There is a chance to see a naked-eye planet marathon all week, as the bright red planet of Mars is located in the eastern part of the bull, as well as in the western part of the goat. The southern hemisphere has a better chance of seeing the last two than the northern one.