Look ahead to a daytime moon
This month’s full moon got here on the night time of April 23, 2024. By April 25, the moon is in a waning gibbous phase, rising later and later every successive night time. For these at temperate latitudes within the Northern Hemisphere, there’s an particularly very long time between moonrises on successive evenings round now. The April 25 moon will rise greater than two hours after sundown. The April 26 moon will rise roughly to a few hours after sundown.
And, after all, a later rising time means a later setting time. That’s why the mornings after a full moon are an excellent time to catch a virtually full daytime moon over your western horizon after dawn. Look ahead to it!
The moon is up within the daytime half of the time. However, as a result of it’s pale in opposition to the blue sky, it’s not as noticeable in the course of the day as at night time. Nonetheless, there are particular home windows every month throughout which the daytime moon is most noticeable.
The remainder of April 2024 presents a kind of home windows. It’s an excellent time to observe for a daytime moon.
By April 26 and 27 mornings, moon close to Antares
By the mornings of April 26 and 27, 2024 (or late night April 25 and 26), the moon can be close to the brilliant star Antares within the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. At the moment, the moon can be rising just a little earlier than midnight at mid-northern latitudes. And it’ll nonetheless be up after the sun rises, however showing thinner in phase and better within the sky with every new daybreak.
Due to Earth’s movement across the sun, Antares – like all of the fixed stars (stars that seem to not transfer relative to 1 one other) – will rise about 4 minutes earlier every night. In the meantime, due to its personal movement round Earth, the moon can be rising later and later every night and thus transferring away from Antares’ location within the sky.
Day by day, within the days forward, the lighted portion of the waning gibbous moon will shrink. The half-lit last quarter moon will come late at 10:15 p.m. CDT April 30 (03:15 UTC on Could 1), 2024.
Backside line: You may simply spot the moon within the morning sky – after dawn – for just a few days after full moon. Look west after the sun comes up!
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