Author: Robert Lunsford

During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Saturday October 5th. At this time the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 23:00 local summer time (LST). As the week progresses the window of dark skies during the morning hours will decrease with each passing night.

During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Sunday September 22nd. At this time the half-illuminated moon will rise near 23:00 local summer time (LST) and will remain in the sky the remainder of the night. Successful meteor observations can be obtained by simply viewing in a direction with the moon at your back. The moon will become less of a problem with each successive night as its phase wanes and it rises later in the morning. The evening sky is unaffected by moonlight but still produces less activity than the morning hours.

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday September 14th. This will be the worst time of the month to try and view meteor activity as the bright moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. Toward the end of this period the evening hours will be free of moonlight but rates during this time of night are low, seldom exceeding 5 meteors per hour.

During this period the moon’s phase waxes from just past new to its first quarter phase. This weekend the moon will be a very slender crescent phase in the evening sky. It will set soon after it becomes dark and will not interfere with viewing meteor activity during this period.

During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Thursday August 15th. On that date the moon is located opposite the sun and lies above the horizon all night long. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours, giving a small window of opportunity to view in dark skies while the moon is low in the west or below the horizon.