Daytime Moon is Up After Sunrise Now
Originally published by EarthSky.
Watch for a daytime moon
This month’s full moon came on the night of April 23, 2024. By April 25, the moon is in a waning gibbous phase, rising later and later each successive night. For those at temperate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s an especially long time between moonrises on successive evenings around now. The April 25 moon will rise more than two hours after sunset. The April 26 moon will rise roughly to three hours after sunset.
And, of course, a later rising time means a later setting time. That’s why the mornings after a full moon are a good time to catch a nearly full daytime moon over your western horizon after sunrise. Watch for it!
The moon is up in the daytime half of the time. But, because it’s pale against the blue sky, it’s not as noticeable during the day as at night. Still, there are certain windows each month during which the daytime moon is most noticeable.
By April 26 and 27 mornings, moon near Antares
By the mornings of April 26 and 27, 2024 (or late evening of April 25 and 26), the moon will be near the bright star Antares in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. At that time, the moon will be rising a little before midnight at mid-northern latitudes. And it’ll still be up after the sun rises, but appearing thinner in phase and higher in the sky with each new dawn.
Because of Earth’s motion around the sun, Antares – like all the fixed stars (stars that appear not to move relative to one another) – will rise about four minutes earlier each evening. Meanwhile, because of its own motion around Earth, the moon will be rising later and later each evening thus moving away from Antares’ location in the sky.
Day by day, in the days ahead, the lighted portion of the waning gibbous moon will shrink. The half-lit last quarter moon will come late at 10:15 p.m. CDT April 30 (03:15 UTC on May 1), 2024.
Bottom line: You can easily spot the moon in the morning sky – after sunrise – for a few days after the full moon. Look west after the sun comes up!
Rocket Launches can sometimes be seen in Garrett County. Especially those from Wallops Island.
Originally published by EarthSky and Space.
May
May 4 and 5: On the mornings of May 4 and 5, 2024 – especially if you’re out there watching meteors – notice the waning moon, a thin crescent, about to slip into the sunrise glare. The planets Mars and Saturn will be easy to spot. But – unless you are in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere – you might not see Mercury on these mornings. From the Northern Hemisphere, Mercury is vanishingly near the sunrise. But the morning of May 6 might be a good time to catch it (see the chart below) since the waning moon will be near it. Do you notice a lovely glow on the unlit side of the moon? That’s Earthshine! It’s reflected light from the Earth.
May 6: Can you still see the moon on the morning of May 6, 2024? If so, you might be able to find Mercury, too. They’ll both lie low on the horizon; binoculars might help locate them. Reddish Mars and golden Saturn will be higher in the sky.
May 6: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed flight, with NASA astronauts and former Navy test pilots, commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams.
The Crew Test Flight to the International Space Station will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, and last about a week. The short mission to the ISS aims to test out all major systems with astronauts on board. CFT follows two uncrewed flights by Starliner: A 2019 flight that did not reach the ISS as planned, and a 2022 attempt (following numerous changes to Starliner) that reached the ISS and met all other major flight objectives.
May 10: On the evening of May 10, 2024, the waxing crescent moon – glowing with earthshine – will lie between two bright stars. The golden star is Capella in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. And in vivid contrast to golden Capella is the bright red supergiant star Betelgeuse, the brightest star in Orion the Hunter. You can follow them until almost midnight.
May 12: On the evening of May 12, 2024, the waxing crescent moon will shine near Pollux and Castor, the twin stars of Gemini. Even though they are known as twins, they really don’t look alike. Pollux is a bit brighter and it’s a golden star, while Castor is a white light. They’ll rise before sunset and travel across the sky’s dome before setting near midnight.
May 13: The thick waxing crescent moon will lie near M44, the Beehive star cluster, on the evening of May 13, 2024. You’ll need binoculars to spot dozens of the stars in the Beehive. Also nearby will be the bright twin stars of Gemini: Pollux and Castor. You can see them until around midnight.
May 18: Jupiter will lie on the opposite side of the sun from Earth on May 18, 2024, and can’t be seen. This point in its orbit is called a superior conjunction.
May 19 and 20: On the evenings of May 19 and 20, 2024, the fat waxing gibbous moon will hang near the bright star Spica in Virgo the Maiden. They’ll rise before sunset and be visible for several hours after midnight.
May 22: On the evening of May 22, 2024, the waxing gibbous moon will lie near the bright red star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion. They’ll be visible from early morning until dawn.