What phase of the moon is best for stargazing?
Print Me Email to FriendTonight's Sky for Saturday, May 24 2008
We got this question: “What phase of the moon would be best for stargazing, and why?”
And the answer is … it depends on what you want to do. We’re past full moon for this month now. Full moon was May 19, according to U.S. clocks. The moon tonight is in a waning gibbous phase. A moon anywhere near full casts a lot of light in the sky, so you can’t see fainter stars then. Tonight’s moon is pretty bright, too, but it rises late at night, leaving the early evening hours dark for deep sky gazing – assuming you’re looking in a dark country sky!
Tonight’s moon is in the vicinity of the very bright planet Jupiter. You will see Jupiter and the moon if you look outside after midnight Saturday night – that is, early Sunday morning. Even after moonrise tonight, unless you’re observing with a telescope, or want to see really faint deep sky objects, the moon isn’t enough to spoil an evening . . . especially since the light of the moon itself is so beautiful.
