The Sky at Night

The next seven days see the Moon waxing from a modest crescent this evening to a substantial gibbous Moon by the end of the week. Our natural satellite makes a complete ciruit of the sky each month, so its position against the background of stars changes noticeably from night to night, as do its rising and setting time.

On Monday and Tuesday (the 13th and 14th), the Moon acts as a useful signpost for finding the planet Saturn in the early evening sky. On Monday, the Moon lies just below Saturn in the south-western sky. By the next night, it is somewhat above the planet. During the day the pair will have passed within two degrees of each other. The dance of the Moon and Saturn takes place in the somewhat inconspicuous zodiacal constellation of Pisces. The Moon and naked-eye planets routinely make close encounters in the sky since their paths are all confined to a relatively narrow band of constellations.