Not
every night is good for observing Galaxies, Nebula's etc. during the
month the Moon passes through phases, Quarter, Half and Full. When the
Moon is in the evening sky it reflects a lot of the Sun's light, this
makes it very hard to see faint Deep Sky Objects (DSO's)
Usually once a month we get a full moon,
When the Moon is Full, it is very bright and observation can be diminished, some of the best Moon viewing can be done when the Moon is around a Quarter, this helps with light levels and also the angle of the light on the Moon helps bring out the craters.
The good thing about Moon Observing is that you do not need a dark site to do it, you can do this activity at home or even in your well lit street.
Below is a list of when Full and Quarter Moons are for 2008.
|
First Quarter |
Full Moon |
Last Quarter |
|
Jan 15 |
Jan 22 |
Jan 30 |
|
Feb 14 |
Feb 21 |
Feb 29 |
|
Mar 14 |
Mar 21 |
Mar 29 |
| Apr 12 | Apr 20 | Apr 28 |
| May 12 | May 20 | May 28 |
| Jun 10 | Jun 18 | Jun 26 |
| Jul 10 | Jul 18 | Jul 25 |
| Aug 8 | Aug 16 | Aug 23 |
| Sep 15 | Sep 15 | Sep 22 |
| Oct 14 | Oct 14 | Oct 21 |
| Nov 13 | Nov 13 | Nov 19 |
| Dec 12 | Dec 12 | Dec 19 |
| |
||