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Wednesday, 17 December 2025 | Default Location
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Tonight at a Glance

Waning Crescent 4%
Dark window: 17:18 – 06:41 (13 h 23 m)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.6 · 27° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Io Occultation ends
Europa Occultation begins
Europa Occultation ends
Saturn mag 0.9 · 23° alt · Aquarius Details
Rings: Edge-on (rings nearly invisible) (0.7° north face)

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 6.7 · 34° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.15 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 18d)

For Beginners (naked eye)

Double Cluster
NGC 869 Open Cluster
mag 4.3

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look low in the southeast

Orion
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look high in the west

Andromeda

Binocular Targets

Mira
68 Cet Variable Star
mag 3.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Cet
M34
Spiral Cluster Open Cluster
mag 5.5

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus
M33
Triangulum/Pinwheel Galaxy Galaxy
mag 5.7

At 21:00 look high in the southwest

Triangulum

Small Scopes (3–6 inch)

Castor
HIP 36850; Alpha Gem; 66 Gem Double Star
mag 2.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the east

Gem
NGC 1245
Open Cluster
mag 8.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Per
M76
Little Dumbbell Nebula Planetary Nebula
mag 10.1

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus
M77
Cetus A or Squid Galaxy Galaxy
mag 8.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Cetus
R Tri
Variable Star
mag 5.3

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Tri

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

NGC 1220
Open Cluster
mag 12.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Per
C56
NGC 246 Planetary Nebula
mag 10.9

At 21:00 look low in the southwest

Cetus
C23
NGC 891 Galaxy
mag 9.9

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Andromeda
NGC 925
Galaxy
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Tri
NGC 891
Galaxy
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

And

The Week Ahead

Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
🌘 4% 🌑 1% 🌑 0% 🌑 1% 🌑 3% 🌒 7% 🌒 13%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

W5: The Soul Nebula

Stars are forming in the Soul of the Queen of Aethopia. More specifically, a large star forming region called the Soul Nebula can be found in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia, whom Greek mythology credits as the vain wife of a King who long ago ruled lands surrounding the upper Nile river. Also known as Westerhout 5 (W5), the Soul Nebula houses several open clusters of stars, ridges and pillars darkened by cosmic dust, and huge evacuated bubbles formed by the winds of young massive stars. Located about 6,500 light years away, the Soul Nebula spans about 100 light years and is usually imaged next to its celestial neighbor the Heart Nebula (IC 1805). The featured image, taken from near Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a composite of 234 hours of exposures made in different colors: red as emitted by hydrogen gas, yellow as emitted by sulfur, and blue as emitted by oxygen. Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator

Image credit: Jeffrey Horne — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

Watch live: Artemis II launch

Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, is scheduled to launch on April 1, 2026, carrying four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon.

ESA — 31 Mar 2026

Europe's engines powering Artemis II

Europe's Service Module, built by ESA and containing 33 engines, will provide the essential propulsion, power, and life support for the Artemis II spacecraft during its historic lunar mission.

ESA — 30 Mar 2026

NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver Artemis Science, Tech to Moon

NASA awarded Intuitive Machines $180.4 million to deliver science payloads to the lunar surface as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative supporting the Artemis program.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

Plan your session before dark

Use Tonight to find targets, then add them to a Plan so you have a checklist ready when you're outside.

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