During this period the moon wanes from slightly less than half illuminated to nearly new, when it will be to thin and too close to the sun to see. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the early morning hours and will interfere with viewing meteors if you look in its direction. If you face away from the moon once it clears the horizon the moonlight will hardly be noticeable.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Thursday January 19th. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees west of the sun and will rise near midnight local standard time (LST). This weekend the waning gibbous moon will rise during the late evening hours and will make it difficult to view any meteor activity during the more active morning hours.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its full phase on Thursday January 12th. At this time the moon will be located opposite the sun and will lie above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, allowing a few hours of observations under dark skies before the start of morning twilight.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Thursday January 5th. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set between midnight and 0100 local standard time (LST). This weekend the waxing crescent moon will set during the early evening hours and will not cause any problems due to the thin phase.
Read MoreDuring this period the moon reaches its new phase on Thursday December 29th. At this time the moon will be located near the sun and will not be visible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the early morning hours and will not cause any problems due to the thin phase.
Read More
