See A Crescent Moon Meet Mercury As Eerie ‘Earthshine’ Glows: The Night Sky This Week

Science See A Crescent Moon Meet Mercury As Eerie ‘Earthshine’ Glows: The Night Sky This Week Jamie Carter Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 28, 2022, 08:00pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The crescent Moon and “Earthshine”—where Earth reflects light from the Sun back on to the Moon.

Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images Each Monday I pick out the northern hemisphere’s celestial highlights (mid-northern latitudes) for the week ahead, but be sure to check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more. What To Watch For In The Night Sky This Week: August 29-September 4, 2022 This is a great week to watch the crescent Moon climb higher into the western sky during twilight. With each passing night it will get bigger, brighter and shine higher in the sky, but for most of the week you’ll see some of the most delicate light in all of nature—“Earthshine.

” Here’s what’s going on in the night sky this week: Monday, August 29, 2022: A crescent Moon and Mercury Stellarium Monday, August 29, 2022: A crescent Moon and Mercury Look to the western sky just after sunset and you’ll see a 7%-illuminated crescent Moon. A beautiful sight, but if you look a little closer—around 6° from the Moon, to be exact—you may see the tiny planet Mercury. Binoculars will help.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022: A crescent Moon and ‘Earthshine’ Stellarium MORE FOR YOU New Research Finds A Connection Between Domestic Violence And These Two Personality Disorders This Scientist Helps Andean Forests And Ecuador’s Women In STEM Exceptional Fossil Preservation Suggests That Discovering Dinosaur DNA May Not Be Impossible Tu esday, August 30, 2022: A crescent Moon and ‘Earthshine’ Tonight in the west after sunset you’ll see a 14%-lit crescent Moon, but what really adds beauty to the sight is “Earthshine. ” Look look slightly to the left at the darker part of the Moon and you’ll see some detail on its surface. That’s sunlight being reflected from Earth and on to the Moon.

It’s always happening, but only visible to the human eye when only a slither of the Moon itself is being lit by the Sun. Wednesday, August 31, 2022: A crescent Moon, ‘Earthshine’ and Spica Stellarium Saturday, September 3, 2022: A First Quarter Moon and Antares The brightest star on the constellation of Scorpius is often visited by the Moon. This month our natural satellite will be 50%-lit as it passes about 2º from one of the largest red supergiant stars in the night sky.

Draco the dragon constellation on a starry space background with the names of its main stars. . .

. [+] Relative sizes and different color shades based on the spectral star type. getty Constellation of the week: Draco, ‘The Dragon of The North’ September is ideal for finding the sprawling constellation of Draco.

First find The Big Dipper/the Plough in the northern sky. Winding around it is Draco the Dragon, its head inching towards the Summer Triangle. Object of the week: Northern Cross Stellarium/Jamie Carter Object of the week: Northern Cross Go outside after dusk and look straight above your head and you will see three bright stars—Deneb, Altair, and Vega—that together make up the large and fairly easy to find asterism called the Summer Triangle.

An asterism is a recognizable shape, but not an official constellation). Deneb is the brightest star in Cygnus, “The Swan. ” However, many stargazers like to look at Cygnus the other way up and refer to it as the Northern Cross.

You decide! Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website or some of my other work here . Jamie Carter Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.