Quarter Moon

May 10, 2019

The moon has been pretty elusive over the last few weeks. It’s not only been out at difficult times—the daytime, early morning… but during that time it’s also been small… in the crescent phases the practically invisible new moon…  But now we get a good evening moon back, and it’s in an exciting phase: first quarter—also known to some as a half moon.

And if we’re lucky enough to have clear skies, dig out an old telescope… ANY telescope, or a pair of binoculars to get a closer look. A partial moon is so much more fun to look at than a full moon because the shadow accentuates textured features like craters and mountains. And because the shadow moves every day, it reveals something new each night.

And if you get a chance to look on Friday night, you’ll catch a rare alignment of the moon and the Beehive Cluster, an open star cluster that sits right in the middle of the constellation Cancer. So, depending on when you observe, you may notice dozens of brilliant stars in the background.

If you miss Friday’s show, Sunday night puts the moon right next to Regulus, the heart of Leo the Lion, which is a binary star. After you look at the moon through your telescope, scan over to that nearby bright bluish star and try to split it. With the right magnification, you’ll notice a much dimmer star next to Regulus. That’s two of four stars in that system. If you do get a look at Regulus, remember that it’s a star that spins so fast, it actually looks more like an egg than a sphere.

So welcome the moon back into the evening sky this weekend… and spend a little time with its neighbors too.