Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Monday, May 9th.  The sun rises at 6:22.  It’ll be up for 14 hours and 34 minutes, setting at 8:56.   The moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 2:18 tomorrow morning.

Lets look at the moon for this evening.  There’s several ways one can see a rabbit in the moon.  The head and ears can be seen in the dark seas on the moon upside down. The Sea of Serenity has just emerged into light and is the shoulders of this rabbit.  In binoculars or a telescope The Sea of Serenity or Mare Serenitatis looks to me a bit like a scallop shell in shape.  Below that is the Sea of Tranquility, the rabbit’s head.   Finishing the rabbit off are its ears, the Sea of Fertility, the fat ear and the Sea of Nectar the skinny ear.  Cultures over the earth see different things in the dark seas of the moon.  Most familiar to us in the Man in the Moon.  In Australia, it is the rabbit.  The rest of him is on the night side of the moon now.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Rabbit in the Moon animation - Lunar image from Virtual Moon Atlas.