The Moon is at first quarter at 10:54 p.m. CDT. A quarter Moon lines up at a right angle to the line between Earth and the Sun, so sunlight illuminates half of the lunar hemisphere that faces our way.
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Last Week's Stargazing Tips
June 17: First-Quarter Moon
May 31: Moon and Jupiter
Look for Jupiter, the largest planet of the solar system, close above the Moon at dawn tomorrow. It looks like a brilliant star. Through binoculars, Jupiter’s big moons look like small stars lining up quite near the planet.
May 30: Moon and Planets
The planets Jupiter and Saturn line up near the Moon in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. Saturn is close to the upper right of the Moon, with brighter Jupiter farther to the left of the Moon.
May 29: Moon and Saturn
The Moon climbs into view after midnight with the bright planet Saturn to its left as they rise, and to the upper left at first light. The Moon is in its “gibbous” phase, so the Sun lights up more than half of the hemisphere that faces our way.
May 28: Mercury and Venus
Mercury and Venus appear to almost touch each other. The planets are low in the northwest about 30 minutes after sunset. Venus, the Evening Star, is by far the brighter of the two. They set by the time the sky gets dark.
May 27: Scorpion
The scorpion skitters across the southern sky. Its tail clears the southeastern horizon by midnight, and the scorpion remains visible for the rest of the night. Its brightest star is Antares, in the middle of the scorpion’s curving body.
May 26: Summer Rising
Look low in the east early this evening for three major stars of summer. In the southeast is Antares, the bright heart of the scorpion, close to the Moon. Scan far to its left for the bright white stars Vega, in the harp, and Deneb, in the swan.