Home > Ephemeris Program, Observing, The Moon > Ephemeris: 02/06/2025 – The Moon tonight, two days after first quarter

Ephemeris: 02/06/2025 – The Moon tonight, two days after first quarter

February 6, 2025

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, February 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 3 minutes, setting at 5:59, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:54. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 4:30 tomorrow morning.

Tonight the moon will be about a day and a half past first quarter it is showing some very nice craters for the binoculars or small telescope. Near the south end of the moon near the terminator, the sunrise line, is the crater called Clavius which has an arc of several craters within it, each of decreasing size. North or above that is the sharp-edged crater called Tycho which, during a full moon, shows several long ejecta rays across the face of the Moon, but are almost invisible now. Near the top edge of the Moon the flat floored crater called Plato is seen by the edge of the large sea Mare Imbrium or Sea of Showers. A mountain range at the opposite side of Imbrium is called the Apennines Mountains.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

The Moon tonight, February 6, 2025, as it might appear in a small telescope
The Moon tonight, February 6, 2025, as it might appear in a small telescope. Selected features are labeled, including those mentioned in the program. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, and GIMP.
The crater Clavius as seen from above
The crater Clavius as seen from above. It’s one of the largest on the Moon of 140 miles or 225 kilometers in diameter. It sports a curious arc of inner craters. It looks like 5 craters in an arc of decreasing size, moving counterclockwise from the 5 o’clock position on the crater wall. The largest crater looks like it’s older than the others. This is an image from the Virtual Moon Atlas a free software program.
The crater Plato seen from overhead
The crater Plato seen from overhead with the Virtual Moon Atlas, along with the Alps Mountains (Montes Alpes) . Plato is known as a walled plain some 63 miles in diameter or 101 kilometers in diameter. An interesting feature of the Alps mountains is the long gash called the Alpine valley.
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