I was just outside on my lunch break, and I noticed the moon in the sky. I’ve noticed the moon during the daytime before, but how often does this happen, especially this early in the day?
Damn.
Thanks. Usually I do a search, but neglected to do so this time.
Moderators, feel free to close this one.
A) Quick answer - from half moon phase thru to gibbous moon phase are opportune “windows” when the moon is most noticeable in the daytime sky…waxing or waning. A waxing moon (i.e.: all phases after new up to full) would be found in the eastern half of the sky around noon; a waning moon (i.e.: all phases after full up to new) is prominent in the morning - in the western sky.
B) Ok, here’s some easy guidelines.
Just know the moon’s phase:
New Moon? Rises about sunrise; sets about sunset
1st Quarter? Rises roughly 6 hrs after sunrise; sets roughly 6 hours after sunset.
Full Moon? Rises about sunset; Sets about sunrise
(next day)
3rd Quarter Moon? Rises roughly 6 hrs before sunrise; sets about 6 hrs before sunset.
C) For more details: It’s really not complicated once you know a few basic rules of the sun and moon’s apparent motion thru the zodiac month to month. If you know the zodiac, count how many zodiacal constellations are between the sun and moon, mutliply by 30 degrees per constellation, and then divide by 15 degrees per hour (earth’s rate of rotation)…yields hours between the setting of the sun and the setting of the moon, for example.
BTW: If your answers come out to 18 hrs, instead of 6 hours, it just means you “went” around the zodiac in the opposite direction as me…since it is a circle!
Hope this all helps…
- Jinx
Fact is, except for the day or two or three that the moon is just about between us and the sun, and can’t be seen, it CAN be seen every other day of the month, “day” meaning a 24 hour stretch. I have had students from 8th grade through graduate school keep a moon journal, which I recommend for you and anyone else who really wants to understand the movements of the moon. (After all, everything we know about the moon’s, the sun’s and the planets’ motions are still from earth-based observations, despite all sorts of advancements in technology over the centuries). If you spend a month or so journaling the moon, what it looks like, where it is, what time of day you’re looking, etc. you can, with a little ingenuity, deduce a good deal about its path and its motion. Most people cant begin to tell you where the moon will be at any particular time of day, or on any particular day, for that matter, despite the fact that they’ve seen the moon just about every day of their lives. So, do a little science on your own, and you’ll be amazed at what you can learn.
CC, you’re correct. I’d add that people who do observe are unsure why sometimes the moon appears to take a higher path across the sky while other times a much lower path. It’s the exact same reason why the sun is high in the summer sky and lower in the winter sky…except the moon advances through the zodiac much quicker than the sun (ok, technically, it’s the earth) does.
FYI: The full moons in the winter months will take a high path across the sky - marking where the sun shall be come summer; the full moons of summer take a low path - marking where the sun will be come winter (for northern hemisphere).
- Jinx
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Actually, the hemisphere doesn’t matter! If it’s summer in your hemisphere, then the moon shall follow suit to the statement above - because your latitude on earth makes the determination of how high the moon shall appear above the horizon. HALT! With the exception of the tropics and poles.
Now, if you’re in the tropics between about +23 and -23 degrees of latitude, then the story’s a little different since both the moon’s path (and sun’s path) is high above the horizon all year round.
Above the Arctic and Antarctic Cirles, there will be times when the moon (as well as the sun) cannot rise (or set) above your horizon. Hence, the “land of the midnight sun” effect…with the extreme of 6 months at the Poles.
This, too, is all from some simple subtractions - once you know some basic relationships using your latitude and the moon’s (or sun’s) “latitude” (i.e.: declination) in the sky.
Covering the moon’s apparent position around our globe,
- Jinx