Home > Binoculars, Ephemeris Program, Observing, Telescope, The Moon > Ephemeris: 11/20/2023 – Observing the Moon tonight

Ephemeris: 11/20/2023 – Observing the Moon tonight

November 20, 2023

This is Ephemeris for Monday, November 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 24 minutes, setting at 5:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:47. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 12:42 tomorrow morning.

The moon was exactly first quarter at 5:50 this morning. By this evening it will be slightly gibbous. If I want to see the most detail on the Moon of any kind, the best time to observe it is within a few days of first quarter. More craters are visible, and other features are easier to see then. The southern part of the Moon or the bottom part, as we see it, is littered with craters. It’s called the lunar highlands, and they are really higher than the darker and flatter regions, which are called seas. There is no water in them but if the Moon did have water, that’s where it would be. There are a couple of mountain ranges which are actually the edges of a sea called Mare Imbrium that are just coming into view. They show up nicely with their shadows. It’s shadows that make the detail on the moon stand out, because the Moon basically is darker gray on lighter gray, so the only contrast is with shadows. That’s why I find the full moon to be so disappointing. No shadows.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Annotated Moon map for tonight
The Moon about 18 hours after first quarter, 8 pm November 20, 2023. It’s all Latin. Montes are mountains, a mare (pronounced mar-e) is a sea, a sinus is a bay. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
Categories: Binoculars, Ephemeris Program, Observing, Telescope, The Moon