A “trio” will form in the night between November 20 and 21. The Moon crosses the northern fringe of the star cluster called the Beehive or Praesepe, the “manger.” Mars too is approaching the cluster, but is moving much more slowly, and will not quite reach it, going into reverse motion on December 6. So the three get into a tight grouping. Their centers come to be within a circle of diameter 3.65°.
The three are very disparate. The beautiful cluster is, in a clear sky, visible to the unaided eye as a hazy nebula. The Moon, though not really as large as in our picture (where it is exaggerated 4 times in size), is not long past full. So the cluster, and even star-like Mars, may be difficult to discern.
There could be in the sky (as I realized on plotting the picture) a few meteors of the relatively minor shower called the Alpha Monocerotids, whose peak is on Nov. 23 and whose radiant is in the constellation of the Unicorn.
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