dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (11/05/85)
You won't find the moon in the evening sky now. We'll tell you why -- after this. November 5 Last Quarter Moon Today the moon is at last quarter. That means it's now three-quarters of the way around in its monthly orbit of the Earth -- as measured from one new moon to the next. The next new moon will be a week from today. A last quarter moon is a morning moon. You can look for the moon to rise tonight right around midnight. Since the moon is exactly last quarter during the day today, tonight's moon will appear a little less than half illuminated. If you do see the moon around midnight -- when it's just coming up over the eastern horizon -- notice how the lighted portion of the moon points down toward the horizon. Of course it's pointing in the direction of the sun -- which is below you at midnight -- beneath your feet -- illuminating the opposite side of the globe. When Earth has turned so that you face the sun again -- in other words, at dawn on Wednesday -- you can still notice that the illuminated portion of the moon faces in the direction of the sun. At dawn on Wednesday, the moon will be approximately overhead, with its lighted half facing east. After midnight tonight, when the moon is up, look also for a bright star near the moon. That star is Regulus, the heart of the lion in the constellation Leo. You can see it after midnight tonight or tomorrow night -- the star Regulus in the vicinity of the moon. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin