The Moon and Venus in the Morning Sky

This is the week of the lunar month when our natural satellite swings towards, and then past the sun, leaving our night time skies darker – perfect for stargazing!

The moon will begin this week as a waning crescent shining prettily over the eastern pre-dawn horizon. On Wednesday morning, the even slimmer crescent will begin a dance with bright Venus. That morning, the moon will sit a generous fist’s diameter to the right of the planet. Try to see the pair before about 6 am local time. On Thursday, the moon will land about 4 finger widths to the lower right of Venus. Venus will be easily spotted in the eastern sky just before sunrise all this week.

From Friday morning until just after sunset on Sunday evening, the moon will be invisible, because it will be positioned near the sun in the sky. During that period, the sunlight reaching the moon will only shine on the lunar farside. New Moon phase will officially occur at 6:45 pm EDT on Saturday evening. The young crescent moon will be a little easier to spot, sitting low in the western sky, on Sunday after sunset.

Happy hunting!