The Northern Hemisphere’s full Harvest Moon has passed. Now the moon is in a waning gibbous phase, which means it rises in the east later and later each evening. Look east before going to bed tonight to catch the moon over the eastern horizon. Then look in the west after sunrise tomorrow, on the day of the equinox, to see the daytime moon over your western horizon. If you don’t like to stay up late or get up early, look for the daytime moon in the west after sunrise over the coming week.
Moon’s rising and setting time into your sky
Sylvia asked:
When is the best time to see the moon in the sky during daylight hours?
Daytime moon seen on December 18, 2010. Image by Brian Pate. Used with permission.
The daytime moon is up there much of the time, but, because it’s pale against the blue sky, it’s not as noticeable as the moon at night.
The most noticeable moon at night is the one farthest from the sun in the sky. That would be around the time of full moon each month, when the moon is 180 degrees from the sun, on the opposite side of the sky’s dome. Full moon was on September 19, at 11:13 Universal Time.
Harvest moon link
A full moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. But now the moon is now in a waning gibbous phase – rising later each night – and setting in the west later each day after sunrise.
So, in the next several mornings – after sunrise – look for the waning gibbous moon in the west during the morning hours. At mid-northern latitudes in North America, the moon will set at roughly 10 pa.m. on September 22, and about one hour later each day thereafter. Elsewhere around the world, the moon will set at a similar time at mid-northern latitudes. South of the equator, the moon will set sooner after sunrise.
Moon’s setting time in your sky
By the way, the moon is up during the day half the time. It has to be, since it orbits around the whole Earth once a month. Sometimes the daytime moon is hard to see because it’s so near the sun in the sky. And consider that if the sun is low in the sky, a crescent daytime moon might be high in the sky, so that you’d have to crane your neck, looking up, to notice it.
September 2013 guide to the five visible planets
Ordinarily, we don’t look up during the day to see such a thin crescent moon. That’s one reason people are sometimes surprised to learn the moon is out so often during the day.
Day by day, the lighted portion of the waning gibbous moon will shrink and the half-lit last quarter moon will come on Saturday, September 27. Watch for the daytime moon to climb higher and higher into the western sky after sunrise all this coming week!
Bottom line: Starting around the September equinox 2013, look for the daytime moon in the west after sunrise!
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