Moon by Taurus the Bull's northern horn
Discuss Print Me Email to FriendTonight is Sunday, Aug 24 2008
The waning crescent moon rises quite late tonight, possibly after midnight. To know for certain the moon’s rising time in your sky, check the links on our almanac page.
The moon will be quite close to the star Elnath as they rise in tandem over your east-northeast horizon late tonight. As they climb upward during the dark hours after midnight, the moon will edge closer and closer to Elnath. The moon and Elnath will appear the closest together before dawn Monday.
On Sunday before dawn, the moon was between Elnath and the Pleiades cluster. This change in the moon’s position relative to the background stars reveals how far the moon has revolved around the Earth in this 24-hour period.
Elnath means the “butting one” in Arabic. This star is aptly named, for Elnath depicts the tip of Taurus the Bull’s northern horn. The bright ruddy star Aldebaran serves as the Bull’s glaring eye.
Although Aldebaran looks brighter than Elnath, that’s only because Aldebaran resides at half the distance of Elnath. Aldebaran is about 65 light-years away, whereas Elnath lies some 130 light-years distant. Elnath is actually about twice as bright as Aldebaran, and shines with the luminosity of 300 suns!
