The “first quarter moon”:http://earthsky.org/article/first-quarter falls today at 21:26 “Universal Time”:http://earthsky.org/article/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”:http://earthsky.org/article/sunrisesunset-moonrisemoonset-almanacs.
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”:http://earthsky.org/article/understandingmoonphases 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”:http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/12435011.html 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.
