The Night Sky

Spot the full moon and its features...

The first Artemis mission to the moon is planned for less than two years from now. As we anticipate that, it’s a great time to become more familiar with the moon.

What you need: A good viewing spot with an unobstructed view of the eastern horizon. If possible, also try to obtain a pair of binoculars.

• The next full moon will be June 5 @ 8:33 p.m. (Click here to see other dates.)

• The full moon always rises shortly after sunset, so just before the sun goes down on Friday, get into position in your viewing spot.

• Watch the moon rise and notice how large it looks as it rises above the horizon.

• Notice the light and dark features on the moon’s surface. The light areas are higher and include mountains hills. The dark areas are called “maria” or “seas.”

• If you find the “rabbit” shape in the moon, the circular sea that makes up the rabbit’s head is named the Sea of Tranquility. This sea was the landing site of Apollo 11.

• If you have binoculars, look at the moon through them and see if you can identify craters on the moon. These circular dents or holes in the moon’s surface are created from impacts of giant space rocks called meteors or asteroids that have crashed into the moon during its history. Because the moon has no air and, therefore, no wind or rain, these impact craters are not worn away by erosion, so they stay the same for millions of years.

• The large crater in the light area near the bottom of the rising moon is named the Tycho Crater, after a Danish astronomer. The lines or “rays” you may be able to see coming out from the crater were created by the rocks that were ejected from the crater when the asteroid that created it hit the moon’s surface.

• For the next two weeks, the moon will gradually shrink in the night sky from a full circle, down to a half circle, and then to just a small sliver or crescent shape before disappearing from our view. We call this a waning moon. For the next two weeks, keep a moon phase journal, recording how much of the moon you can see and what time it rises (it will also rise later each night for the next two weeks).