Author: Robert Lunsford

During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Saturday April 30th. At that time the moon is located near the sun and is not visible at night. As the week progresses, the moon enters the evening sky but will not interfere with the more active morning hours as it sets long before then.

During this period, the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Saturday April 23rd. On that morning the half-illuminated moon will rise between 3:00 and 4:00 local summer time (LST) and will interfere with morning meteor observations the remainder of the night. As the week progresses, the moon becomes less of a factor as its phase wanes and it rises closer to dawn.

During this period, the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday April 16th. At that time the moon will lie above the horizon all night long, making meteor viewing difficult at best. As the week progresses a small window of opportunity will open up to watch meteor activity under dark skies between dusk and moon rise. Unfortunately, this time of night produces the lowest meteor activity so activity will be sparse at best.

During this period, the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Saturday April 9th. The half-illuminated moon will interfere with evening and early morning meteor observations as it doesn’t set until 03:00-04:00, allowing only a small remainder of the night to be free of interfering moonlight. As the week progresses, the moon sets later and later, interfering all night long by the end of the period.

During this period, the moon waxes from a thin crescent to nearly half-illuminated. This weekend the thin crescent moon will set shortly after dusk, so no moonlight will interfere during the remainder of the night. Late in the period the evening hours have interfering moonlight, but the more active morning hours are still free from any interference.