Go young moon hunting on February 9
Tonight, look for the young moon. The February, 2016, new moon came to pass on February 8 at 14:39 Universal Time. For us in the United States, that translates to February 8 at 9:39 a.m. EST, 8:39 a.m. CST, 7:39 a.m. MST and 6:39 a.m. PST. So as the sun sets on February 9, the moon will be well over one day old.
Given an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset, and a clear sky, the thin waxing crescent moon will appear low in the sky and close to the horizon around one hour (or sooner) after sunset. Because the view is sometimes murky near the horizon, binoculars may come in handy for sweeping for the February 9 young moon near the sunset horizon.
At comparable latitudes in the world’s Eastern Hemisphere – Europe, Africa and Asia – the young moon will exhibit a thinner crescent hovering closer to the horizon. Click here to find out the time of moonset in your sky.
On the average, the moon moves some 13o eastward per day in front of the backdrop stars of the Zodiac.
Meanwhile, as seen from Earth, the sun appears to move one degree eastward per day along the ecliptic. In other words, the moon moves an average 12o east of the sun daily.
For reference, the angular diameter of the sun and moon span about one-half degree of sky.
If you miss the young moon on February 9, try again on February 10 or 11. Day by day, the moon will move farther east of the setting sun, to appear higher in the west after the sun goes down.
By the way, the new moon on February 8 passed to the north of the sun; but one month from now, the moon will swing directly in front of the sun, to stage a total solar eclipse in Indonesia on March 9, 2016.
Bottom line: Given an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset, and a clear sky, the thin waxing crescent moon should appear low in the sky and close to the horizon around one hour (or less) after sunset.
Author
Bruce McClure
Bruce McClure is the chief writer for the popular EarthSky Tonight pages. Since joining EarthSky in 2004, he has written thousands of astronomy articles, enjoyed here by millions. He also writes, gives planetarium shows and hosts a wide assortment of public astronomy programs in and around his home in upstate New York. If you ask an astronomy question on our site, it’s likely to be Bruce that answers it. His love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, and he has sailed the North Atlantic, earning his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. Bruce is also a sundial aficionado. He says his number one passion – besides his wife Alice – is stargazing.
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