January 12-14, 2024: After sunset, the early winter evening moon is with Saturn in the southwest.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24
Moon with Saturn
After the New moon phase that occurred yesterday, the waxing crescent moon appears in the southwest after sundown.
Here’s what to look for:
January 12: At forty-five minutes after sundown, the crescent moon, 3% illuminated, is about 5° up in the southwest, over 20° to the lower right of Saturn.
January 13: Again, this evening, the crescent moon is nearly 20° above the southwest horizon. The phase is 9% illuminated. It is 8.2° to the lower right of Saturn. The star Deneb Algedi, Capricornus’ tail, is 3.4° to the crescent’s lower right. A binocular is helpful to see the star in the same field of view with the moon. Look for Fomalhaut, the mouth of the southern fish, over 18° to the lower left of the lunar crescent and nearly 20° to the lower left of Saturn.
January 14: The crescent moon, 16% illuminated, is one-third of the way from the southwest horizon to overhead. It is 7.2° to the upper left of Saturn.
Each evening, look for earthshine between the moon’s cusps or horns. This soft light is sunlight reflected from Earth’s oceans, clouds, and land. From the moon, Earth’s phase is just past the Full phase. The light illuminates the lunar night.
Earthshine
Earthshine is visible without a binocular, although the effect is impressive with the optical assistance. Photograph it with a tripod-mounted camera with exposures up to a few seconds, depending on the camera’s settings.
During the next few evenings look for the early winter evening moon with Saturn.
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