THE upside of this perishingly-cold weather is it gives us spectacularly clear skies. And if the cold snap persists, there's a real treat in the sky to reward early risers (or insomniacs) this week. If you look to the east before dawn tomorrow morning (Friday, December 3) you'll see a breathtakingly beautiful, slender crescent Moon shining almost directly below brilliant Venus.
Look even more closely and you'll see a fainter, more golden-hued ‘star’ shining to Venus' upper right. This is actually the planet Saturn. If you can get hold of a pair of binoculars you'll see a faint point of light very close to Saturn. This is Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
And if you think it's cold here, be glad you don't live on Titan. The temperature there rarely climbs above minus 180 degrees centigrade!
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here