The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of December 25, 2021

 Saturday: Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw Jupiter being eclipsed by the Moon in the east and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2, Bruce Palmquist version, informed by Michael Molnar). There are many theories as to the physical explanation of the Star of Bethlehem, the celestial object that guided the wise men to the location of Jesus. Some people think it was a recurring nova, a star that explodes. Some think it was a close alignment of bright planets. Some think it was a miracle that requires no physical explanation. In 1991, astronomer Michael Molnar bought an ancient Roman Empire coin that depicted a ram looking back at a star. Aries the ram was a symbol for Judea, the birthplace of Jesus. The Magi, or “wise men”, who visited the baby Jesus practiced astrology and would have been looking in that region of the sky for the king prophesied in the Old Testament. Molnar, a modern day wise person, used sky simulation software to model the positions of planets and the Moon in the region of Aries. According to his model, Jupiter was eclipsed, or blocked, by the Moon on the morning of April 17, 6 BC. A book written by the astrologer of Constantine the Great in 334 AD supports Molnar’s theory. The book describes an eclipse of Jupiter in Aries and notes a man of divine nature born during this time. See https://goo.gl/o89A4o for more information.

These three celestial objects are not close together in the sky tonight. At 7:00 p.m., Aries is six fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeastern horizon. Jupiter is a fist and a half above due southwest. The moon doesn’t rise until a little after 11:00 p.m.

Sunday: Did you get a new telescope for Christmas? The next item on your list should be a sky watching app for your phone. These apps will help you to get familiar with the constellations and bright stars. Then you can zoom into an area of interest and learn about objects that are visible through your telescope. I like SkySafari, a free app or low cost iPhones app (depending on their promotions at the time). But there are many other good ones to choose from for little or no money. Go to https://goo.gl/t1DX7R for fifteen short reviews. One of your first targets should be the Pleiades open star cluster. It is bright, easy to see with the naked eye and even more interesting in binoculars. It is six fists above due southeast at 8:00 p.m.

Monday: Snoop Dogg may have tried to put an end to the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry violence in 2016. But the Mars-Antares rivalry has been going on for centuries. In fact, the name Antares means "rival of Mars". The reddish Antares has that name because of its resemblance to the reddish Mars. Go to http://tiny.cc/umwmuz to read about Ambassador Snoop’s efforts. Look a half a fist above the southeastern horizon at 7:00 a.m. to see the Mars-Antares rivalry going strong. Mars is a half a fist to the upper left of the slightly brighter Antares.

Tuesday: Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is one and a half fists above due southeast at 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday: A group of crows is called a murder of crows. A group of porcupines is (appropriately) called a prickle of porcupines. A group of planets is called… a group of planets? Whatever it is called, there is one low in the southwestern sky right after sunset at 5:00 p.m.. Mercury is less than a half a fist to the lower left of the much brighter Venus. Both are about a half a fist above the horizon. Saturn is to the upper left of bright Venus, a fist and a half above the horizon. Jupiter is to the upper left of Saturn, nearly three fists above the south-southwestern horizon.

Thursday: It’s a beautiful day in our solar neighborhood. We know that because the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission published the third edition of its star catalog last year. It is an ultra-precise overview of the position of the nearest nearly two billion stars. While you wait to get your COVID-19 booster shot, take a virtual walk through your celestial neighborhood with some friends by going to https://youtu.be/BknZ2YxegIk.

Friday: Aside from the Big Dipper, the northern sky doesn’t get enough love. Vega, the bright star in the constellation Lyra, is one fist above due northwest at 8:00 p.m.

The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.