Quarter moon, Uranus in 'watery' part of sky
9 comments Print Me Email to FriendTonight is Friday, Dec 05 2008
The first quarter moon falls today at 21:26 Universal Time. For the central U.S., that’s 3:26 p.m. Central Time. On the U.S. East Coast, the first quarter moon occurs at 4:26 p.m. Eastern Time – at nearly the same time as sunset.
At quarter moon, the moon appears from Earth to be half-lit by sunshine and half-engulfed in its own shadow. Of course, half of the moon is always in sunlight, and half is always in shadow, and right now – from our earthly vantage point – we’re seeing half the lighted part, and half the dark part, of the moon. The terminator – or shadow line dividing the lunar day from lunar night – shows you where it’s sunrise on the waxing moon. The best place to observe the moon with binoculars is always along the terminator, where the stark contrast between light and shadow on the moon accentuates your view of lunar craters, mountains and valleys.
At nightfall, Uranus – the 7th planet outward from the sun – lurks nearly 5 degrees to the lower left of the moon. But you’ll need binoculars and a detailed sky chart to find this world. A binocular field is typically 5 to 6 degrees in diameter.
The moon and Uranus are in a part of the sky that the ancient stargazers imagined as watery. Many constellations associated with water lie in this part of the sky. The moon and Uranus are near the border of the constellations Pisces the Fishes and Aquarius the Water Bearer. Here you’ll also find Cetus the Whale and Delphinus the Dolphin. All of these stars are faint. Except for Fomalhaut – the brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish – no notably bright stars lighten up this dark celestial sea.
Is their any way I can see where the the stars are from my location each night?
Is their any way I can see where the the stars are from my location each night?
Braden,
I use an interactive sky chart at Skyandtelescope.com. There are others out there, but this one works pretty good for me.
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Please let me know Where is the terminator? and Why do you only see the Fomalhaut?
Nivarthana,
The terminator is the line that divides the lit and dark sides of the lunar disk. Fomalhaut is the only bright star in the moon’s direction tonight. Unless you’re too close to glaring city lights, you should be able to see some fainter stars as well.
Bruce
This is beautiful and I really appreciate your explanation and information. I am so thankful for this wonderful web site.
Peggy, Austin, Texas
I live in Orange County, CA. There are two incredibly bright stars tonight – what are they?
Peggy and Tamara,
Peggy, much appreciate your kind comments! Tamara, those two incrediably bright “stars” are actually the planets Venus and Jupiter. Venus is the brighter of these two worlds. Look for Venus and Jupiter to blaze in your southwest sky at dusk and nightfall throughout December.
Bruce