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07/15/2016 – Ephemeris – The Moon tonight
Ephemeris for Friday, July 15th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 13 minutes, setting at 9:25, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:12. The Moon, half way from first quarter to full, will set at 3:35 tomorrow morning.
The Moon is bright as it moves toward full. In binoculars, the brightest spot on the Moon is visible on the left edge of the Moon at 10 p.m. In telescopes it becomes a crater named Aristarchus. The sea below Aristarchus where the terminator, the sunrise line cuts across is Oceanus Procellarum, the Ocean of Storms. Below that is the small circular sea called Mare Humorum, the Sea of Moisture. North of Humorum is a large crater with low walls and a multiple central peak called Gassendi. Below that we’re back in the lunar highlands with lots of large craters. One of those craters, near the terminator is oddly elongated. It’s Schiller, 108 by 43 miles (174 X 69 km) in size.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The gibbous Moo at 10 p.m. July 15, 2016 showing some interesting features near the terminator. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
The crater Gassendi from Apollo 16 – NASA
09/08/11 – Ephemeris – The moon tonight
Thursday, September 8th. The sun will rise at 7:12. It’ll be up for 12 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 8:06. The moon, half way from first quarter to full, will set at 4:28 tomorrow morning.
The moon tonight is very bright, so looking at it with a telescope can be almost painful. There are moon filters sold at telescope stores for standard sized eyepieces that will alleviate that problem. Remember it’s daytime on the moon and the sunlight is as strong on the moon as it is on the earth. Concentrate the telescope on the left edge of the moon, the sunrise line where the shadows are. The bright crater Aristarchus is just coming into sunlight now on the upper left. It’s the brightest spot on the moon when the moon is full. The Crater Gassendi to the lower left is a ringed plain with low walls and a flat floor that has a rille or crack in it. Another distinctive crater is Schiller lower to the south and distinctively elongated.
* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The moon with craters Aristarchus, Gassendi and Schiller. Image from Virtual Moon Atlas.
Closeup of the crater Gassendi
The crater Gassendi from Apollo 16 - NASA
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 