New Moon Passes Pleiades This Week

As we approach the weekend with potentially conflicting weather, we’ll focus on the Moon’s progression from New Moon to first quarter phase. 

When the Moon is ‘new’ it means that it’s directly in line with the Sun, making it invisible from Earth. As it slowly moves eastward each night, you’ll begin to see it change to a thin sliver that’s still close enough to the Sun from our perspective that it’s only visible immediately following sunset. Every night it moves several degrees higher after sunset, over the next several days it will pass by the famous Pleiades cluster and then compete with the brilliant planet Venus, still the brightest object in the night sky.

Keen observers will note that in the coming week the full outline of the Moon is visible, despite it being only a partial crescent. The remainder of the Moon’s disc is lit by light reflected off Earth’s oceans and atmosphere back towards the source (the Sun), for a few days the Moon happens to cross through this cone of reflected light and creates a truly stunning effect in the early evening twilight.

For more observing info, check out Sky & Telescope’s weekly Sky at a Glance bulletin:

This Week's Sky at a Glance, April 24 - May 2 - Sky & Telescope

Friday, April 24 ■ As twilight fades, look west. Way down below Venus, near the horizon, the thin, two-day-old crescent Moon is beginning a new lunation, as shown below. Binoculars help in bright twilight, and as the sky darkens they will help show the earthshine on the Moon's nightlands before the Moon sets.

Check back each weekday @ 5:00 pm for more observing guides and science news!

Leave comments and questions on our page and feel free to reach us directly at contact@standleylakestargazing.com. As always-

Stay well, and clear skies!

Aric VyhmeisterComment