Author: Robert Lunsford

During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Monday October 21st. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise near 0200 local summer time (LST). This weekend the waning gibbous...

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Sunday October 13th. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and lie above the horizon all night long. Toward the end of this period there will be a moonless period of a couple of hours between dusk and moonrise. Unfortunately meteor rates at this time are very low.

During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Saturday October 5th. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 23:00 local summer time (LST). As the week progresses the window of dark skies during the morning hours will decrease with each passing night.

During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Sunday September 22nd. At this time the half-illuminated moon will rise near 23:00 local summer time (LST) and will remain in the sky the remainder of the night. Successful meteor observations can be obtained by simply viewing in a direction with the moon at your back. The moon will become less of a problem with each successive night as its phase wanes and it rises later in the morning. The evening sky is unaffected by moonlight but still produces less activity than the morning hours.

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday September 14th. This will be the worst time of the month to try and view meteor activity as the bright moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. Toward the end of this period the evening hours will be free of moonlight but rates during this time of night are low, seldom exceeding 5 meteors per hour.