Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Moon Crosses the Pleiades (overnight)

On Wednesday night, February 5, skywatchers in North America west of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Kansas City, Missouri can watch the orbital motion (green dotted line) of the bright, 60%-illuminated, waxing gibbous moon carry it through the Pleiades star cluster (aka Messier 45, Subaru, and the Seven Sisters). In the Central Time zone, the moon will be getting ready to set in the west when it first contacts the cluster around 1 a.m. CST. In the Mountain Time zone the moon will reach the centre of the cluster when it sets around 2 a.m. MST.
Lucky observers in the Pacific Time zone will see the entire event in the western sky between about 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. PST. While bright moonlight overwhelms fainter objects, viewing the encounter through binoculars (orange circle), will show the "sisters" well, but not the blue nebulosity shown here. Skywatchers in other parts of the world will see the moon shining close to the cluster.

First Quarter Moon

The moon will complete the first quarter of its 29.53-day journey around Earth on Wednesday, February 5 at 3:02 a.m. EST, or 12:02 a.m. PST, or 08:02 GMT. At first quarter, the moon's 90-degree angle from the sun causes us to see it half-illuminated on its eastern side. First quarter moons always rise around mid-day and set around midnight, so they are also visible in the afternoon daytime sky. The evenings surrounding first quarter are the best ones for seeing the spectacular lunar terrain when it is lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary that separates the moon's lit and dark hemispheres.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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