A daily update by email. Science news, great photos, sky alerts.
A waxing gibbous moon is in the sky before it's dark and lights up the early evening. It's more than half lighted, but not quite full. It sets after midnight.
It's waxing toward full moon on August 7-8, obliterating the annual meteor showers and edging toward a lunar eclipse, then a solar eclipse.
Meteors in moonlight. It's not optimal, but it happens! Here's how to minimize the moon and optimize the Lyrid meteor shower in 2024.
No matter where you are on the globe, we all see the same moon phase. So why do photos from a distant location sometimes look different from what you're seeing?
A new study shows that - whether you live in a rural or urban environment - you might sleep less before a full moon.
Watch for the moon near Mars from dusk until around midnight local time on the nights of February 27 and 28, 2023. The bright star Aldebaran is nearby.
You can spot the waxing gibbous moon near Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins on the evenings of February 2 and 3, 2023. Read more here.
On the night of January 30-31, 2023, the waxing gibbous moon occults - or covers - the red planet Mars. Details here - how to see if - what to expect.
On the nights of January 30 and 31, 2023, watch for the moon near red Mars from dusk until after midnight. The bright red star Aldebaran is also nearby.
The moon’s terminator line divides day and night on the moon. As we see it from Earth, it marks the line of lunar sunsets or sunrises. Read more.
No matter where you are on the Earth, look for the waxing crescent moon near Jupiter on the evenings of January 25 and 26, 2023. They are in Pisces.
See the nearly full moon near Orion the Hunter, a hallmark of January skies. Bright, reddish Mars is nearby in the constellation Taurus the Bull.
Look for the moon near Mars and the Pleiades star cluster on the evenings of January 2 and 3, 2023. The red star Aldebaran is also nearby.
A new moon generally can't be seen, except during a solar eclipse. They cross the sky with the sun during the day. The moon's shadow side is toward Earth.
The full moon, opposite the sun in its orbit, shows us its sunlit side. The moon appears full a couple of days before and after the exact moment of full moon.
A waxing crescent moon shines in the west after sunset, first visible a day or two after new moon with earthshine. It sets after the sun after sunset.
The last quarter moon appears a week after full moon and a week before new moon. The moon appears half-lit, like half a pie.
The first quarter moon is halfway between new and full moon. Half of the moon is illuminated and it's a quarter of the way through it's orbit around the Earth.
As the moon orbits Earth, we see varying fractions of its lighted face. These are the changing phases of the moon. Read four tips to understanding moon phases.
The waning gibbous moon falls between the full and last quarter moon. Watch for it to rise late at night. Or see it in the west in the morning.