January 1-7, 2024: Waning moon moves eastward before sunrise. Notable events include crescent moon’s positions and earthshine phenomena.
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by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24
Here are the celestial highlights for the waning moon’s journey, January 1-7, 2024. Look one hour before sunrise:
January 1: The gibbous moon, 74% illuminated, is halfway up in the southwest, nearly 12° to the upper left of Regulus
January 2: Again, in the southwest, but farther eastward, the gibbous moon, 65% illuminated, is over halfway up in the sky. It is in front of Virgo, over 16° to the right of Porrima, also known as Gamma Virginis.
January 3: In the west-southwest, the waning moon, 56% illuminated, is nearly halfway up in the sky and 5.1° to the right (west) of Porrima. The moon is at the morning half phase, Last Quarter, tonight at 9:30 p.m. CST.
January 4: Less than half-full, the thick crescent moon is about 40° up in the south, 6.5° to the upper right of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, and 8.0° to the lower left of Porrima.
January 5: East (left) of Spica this morning, the thick crescent moon, 37% illuminated, is 6.0° to the lower left of the star.
January 6: Less than 30° above the south-southeast horizon, the crescent moon, 2% illuminated, is 3.9° to the lower right of Zubenelgenubi, part of Libra. Check out earthshine, sunlight reflected from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land that lights up the lunar night between the moon’s cusps or horns.
January 7: One day before a rare close grouping of Venus, Moon, and Antares, the lunar crescent, 19% illuminated, is about 20° above the south-southeast horizon. Brilliant Venus and Antares are about 15° to the lower left of the crescent. Look for earthshine again this morning. Photograph it with a tripod-mounted camera and exposures of up to a few seconds, depending on the camera’s settings.
During the week, the moon skips eastward, leading up to a rare close grouping with Venus and Antares on January 8.
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