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Ephemeris: 02/13/2024 – View the Moon tonight
This is Ephemeris for Fat Tuesday, February 13th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 21 minutes, setting at 6:07, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:45. The Moon, 3 days before first quarter, will set at 11:12 this evening.
The moon tonight appears to be a beautiful crescent, a four-day-old moon, or three days before first quarter. On it are two dark seas visible, the small sea Mare Crisium, or Sea of Crises, is easily spotted surrounded by bright highlands near the moon’s limb, or edge. The larger Mare Fecunditatis (Fertility) is left of it. At the edge of the Sea of Fertility at the Terminator, one can see in binoculars, or a small telescope, a tiny keyhole-shaped crater which stands out. It really does look like a tiny keyhole, but it’s two craters slightly overlapping each other. Both are named after Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the movable-type printing press. The big crater is Gutenberg. The second is Gutenberg C.
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.
Addendum
06/07/2016 – Ephemeris – The Moon reappears in the evening sky
Ephemeris for Tuesday, June 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 9:26, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:57. The Moon, 3 days past new, will set at 11:41 this evening.
The Moon tonight is a thin crescent with the night side faintly illuminated by the Earth. The effect is called earthshine. The small dark sea of Crises, or Mare Crisium, near the right edge of the moon will be cut in half by the moon’s terminator, its sunrise line. Venus, which passed behind the Sun yesterday, though now an official evening planet probably won’t become easily visible till near the end of summer. The evening sky now through mid July is a time where it seems that twilight never ends. However for almost the next two weeks, we have the bright planets Jupiter, Mars and Saturn plus the Moon to help us forget the seemingly forever twilight blues. After that we’ll have just the planets. Not a bad deal.
Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Moon showing earthshine at 10:30 p.m. June 7, 2016. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.
Note: The image, from Virtual Moon Atlas, has been rotated to show the approximate appearance in the sky of the Moon low in the southwest. I didn’t attempt to add the sky brightness and color.
Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog 