Sun rises at 5:38am
Sun sets at 6:51pm
Moon phase: third quarter, waning
Moon rises at 11:06pm
Moon sets at11:08am
Lunar Cycles
This weekend, the moon will grace our night skies as a seemingly half-lit circle. Interestingly, there is no actual half-moon phase in astronomy. The phases of the moon are worth trying to understand, and the first step is to visualize the sphere of the moon always half lit on its sunward side and half dark on the side that is opposite the sun. As the moon orbits around us, we see varying degrees of the light or dark side – hence the phases of the moon, which is the basis for our month.
We have the new moon phase, when the moon is aligned with the sun and therefore we don’t see any of the illuminated side. Each day the moon travels around the earth and a bit more of the lighted side is exposed to our point of view here on Earth. At the first quarter phase, one-fourth of the way through the lunar cycle, we can see half of the illuminated side of the moon and half of the dark side. The bright side is on the right. About a week later, we are halfway through the cycle and our view is the full moon – we see all of the lit side of the moon, because the earth is more or less between the sun and the moon.
A week after the full moon – that’s about where we are this weekend – we are three-quarters of the way through the lunar cycle, and again the moon appears half illuminated. But at this time, it is the left side of our view of the moon that is bright, while the right side is dark. The line between the dark and the light side is called the terminator, and it’s a great place to study through binoculars because the shadows created by the craters really stand out clearly.
Next week, we are back to the new moon, and we have completed the moon’s cycle around the earth. So as counter-intuitive as it seems, the phases go: new moon, first quarter, full moon, third quarter and back to new. The celestial geometry of the sun, moon and earth is a dance that has captivated people for millennia.
Aquarius & the Moon
As the third quarter moon rises on Saturday night, the constellation of Aquarius will be just to the right. Aquarius is envisioned as a water carrier, and it is one of the original 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the second century AD. The water carrier was then thought of as the god Ea who controlled floods.
Jupiter, Mars & Saturn
Across the sky from the moon, check out some bright planets. Actually, Jupiter and the moon are in opposition, so as the moon rises in the east, Jupiter will be setting in the west. But looking to the south, if the sky is clear, it will be a nice view of Mars and Saturn along with the bright star Arcturus. The trio of “stars” has been happily ganging together for about five months now and they will get even closer in the months to come. By August, they will be extremely chummy. By October, Mars will drift away from the other two, but for the summer nights, keep expecting to see this triangle.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. Comments and feedback are always welcome. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
