November 15- 17, 2025: See the crescent moon and Venus before sunrise, displaying earthshine as the moon steps eastward in front of Virgo during mid-November mornings.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
The morning crescent moon advances eastward in front of Virgo as it seems to chase Venus into bright morning twilight.
Earthshine
As the moon appears farther eastward, it displays earthshine — sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds, oceans, and land that softly illuminates the lunar night. Photograph it with a tripod-mounted camera or a steady smartphone camera.
Venus retreats into bright morning twilight as it approaches its superior conjunction on the sun’s far side early next year. Rising only 67 minutes before the sun, look for it closer to sunrise and near the east-southeast horizon.
View Morning Moon
Here’s what to see at 45 minutes before sunrise:
• November 15: The crescent moon, 19% illuminated, is 35° above the southeast horizon. It is 9.9° to Porrima’s (Gamma Virginis) upper right. Find Spica over 20° to the moon’s lower left and Venus over 35° to the lower left, very low in the east-southeast.
• November 16: This morning’s lunar crescent, 12% illuminated, is 25° up in the southeast and 10.3° to Spica’s upper right.
• November 17: A thin crescent moon, 7% illuminated, is nearly 14° up in the east-southeast, 2.2° below Spica. The final lunar and 20th occultation (eclipse) of Spica occurs in southern South America and Antarctica. Another series of 20 occultations of this star begins on February 12, 2031.
Find this lovely crescent moon before sunrise, exhibiting earthshine as it moves eastward in front of Virgo, passing its brighter stars.
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