Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Monday, January 7th.  The sun will rise at 8:18.  It’ll be up for 9 hours and 0 minutes, setting at 5:19.   The moon, 3 days past last quarter, will rise at 4:49 tomorrow morning.

This morning the planet Saturn will appear above and right of the crescent moon.  They should be visible until a bit after seven a.m.  The moon will be slipping eastward morning by morning, and by Thursday it will appear near the planet Venus.  The moon’s movement around the earth with respect to the sun is called the synodic month, or a lunation.  It is the period between one new moon to the next of about 29 and a half days.  It is the basis for lunar calendars such as the Jewish and Islamic calendars.  The moon’s crescent can be waxing or waning, growing fatter or thinner.  It is now waning, and next week when we see the moon in the evening its phase will be waxing.  The moon is just an illuminated ball in space.

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

Addendum

Saturn and the moon as seen at 6:30 a.m. on January 7, 2012. Created using Stellarium,