THE MOON...: The full Moon will dip into the outskirts of Earth's shadow on Sunday morning, Dec. 30th. North American and Pacific sky watchers will notice a subtle dimming of the Moon's southern regions during this "penumbral" lunar eclipse. Check SpaceWeather.com for viewing times and maps.

... AND JUPITER: Sunday morning's lunar eclipse will be subtle, but the Moon's Dec. 30th encounter with Jupiter will be dazzling. The Moon and the brilliant giant planet will lie 3 degrees apart during the eclipse, and draw even closer during the hours that follow. Observers, particularly those in western North America and Hawaii, can see a truly beautiful close-pairing shortly before local dawn on Sunday.

GOT PHOTOS? Images of the coming Jupiter-Moon encounter and the lunar eclipse are welcomed. Submit them to webmaster@spaceweather.com.

AURORA WATCH: A coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on Dec. 26th may have missed our planet. Its anticipated time of arrival has come and gone without event.