Conjunction between the Moon and Neptune
2017 Jan 3
Dominic Ford – originally published on In-The-Sky.org
The Moon and Neptune will make a close approach, passing within 0°22' of each other.
From London (click to change), the pair will become visible at around 16:26 (BST) as the dusk sky fades, 29° above your southern horizon. They will then sink towards the horizon, setting 5 hours and 12 minutes after the Sun at 21:11.
At the moment of closest approach, the Moon will be at mag -11.1, and Neptune at mag 7.9, both in the constellation Aquarius.
At closest approach, the pair will be close enough to fit comfortably within the field of view of a telescope, but will also be visible to the naked eye or a through pair of binoculars.
The precise positions of the Moon and Neptune at the moment of closest approach will be as follows:
| Object | Right Ascension | Declination | Constellation | Magnitude | Angular Size |
| The Moon | 22h45m10s | -08°25' | Aquarius | -11.1 | 31'07"9 |
| Neptune | 22h45m40s | -08°46' | Aquarius | 7.9 | 2"2 |
The coordinates above are given in J2000.0. The pair will be at an angular separation of 56° from the Sun, which is in Sagittarius at this time of year.
The details of this observing event were provided courtesy of In-The-Sky.org
.