Posts Tagged ‘gibbous moon’
Earthsky Tonight — April 26, Moon, Spica and Saturn
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight, the almost-full waxing gibbous moon sits close to Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. The star-like point of light above the moon this Monday evening is actually no star at all but Saturn, the 6th planet outward from the sun. Although the moon pairs up with Spica for only a day or two each month, you can always use the Big Dipper to star-hop to Spica after the moon goes down the pike. Once ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — April 24, Waxing gibbous moon
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight, the oval-shaped waxing gibbous moon shines close the ringed planet Saturn. At this time yesterday, a somewhat thinner waxing gibbous moon shone close to Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. Why has the moon moved? The fact is that – every day – the moon travels about 13 degrees eastward in front of the backdrop stars. (The moon’s diameter equals about 1/2 degree, and your fist held at an ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — April 2, 2010: Moon and Scorpius
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Here is the waning gibbous moon near the star Antares in the southeast sky shortly after midnight on April 3. If you are looking for the moon on the evening of April 2, you won’t find it. The moon will not rise tonight until after the middle of the night – at about the same time that the constellation Orion’s bright star Betelgeuse sets in the west. Tonight, from about one after midnight until dawn, the moon will appear ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — March, 26, 2010: Moon swings
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Can you find the star that is shining close to the big and bright waxing gibbous moon tonight? That is Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. Regulus is the only first-magnitude star to sit almost exactly on the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the Earth’s orbital plane projected outward onto the sphere of stars. The ecliptic is often shown on sky charts, because the moon and planets are always found on or ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight — Earthsky Tonight
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight, the waxing gibbous moon shines in front of the constellation Gemini, and is flanked by two beautiful stars. To the north of the moon is Capella, the beacon star in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. To the moon’s south you will find Procyon, the brightest light in the constellation Canis Minor the Little Dog. When you look at the moon at the same time each day, the moon appears to be farther east of where it ... Full Story
