emerald coast astronomer's association

For August 2020, waxing gibbous moon passes 1.5 degrees south of Jupiter on Aug. 1, then two degrees south of Saturn the next evening. The full moon, the Green Corn Moon, occurs on Aug. 3. On Aug. 9, the waning gibbous moon passes 1.5 degrees south of rapidly brightening Mars in the dawn sky.  The last quarter moon is Aug. 11, and will not interfere much with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on the next two mornings.  You may see about a meteor a minute streaming out of the northeast sky after midnight.  The waning crescent moon passes four degrees north of half-lit Venus on Aug.

For June 2020, the Full Moon, the Honey Moon, occurs on June 5.  The waning gibbous moon passes below Jupiter in the dawn sky on June 8, and Saturn on the 9th. The last quarter moon and brightening Mars rise about midnight on June 13.  The most spectacular conjunction of June is the very thin waning crescent moon joining newly visible Venus (also a slender crescent in binocs!) in the dawn on June 19.

For May 2020, the first quarter moon occurs on April 30, and the Full Moon, the Rose Moon, occurs on May 8.  The waning gibbous moon passes two degrees south of bright Jupiter on May 12, and then three degrees south of fainter Saturn a few hours later.  The last quarter moon passes three degrees south of Mars in the morning sky on May 14.  New moon is on May 22.  The evening of May 23 will give us a fine conjunction in the west about 7:30 p.m., with the thin crescent moon to the lower left of brighter Venus, and fainter Mercury will be above them.

For April 2020, the first Full Moon, the Egg Moon, is on April 7.  The last quarter moon passes below Jupiter on April 14, and then Saturn in the 15th, and below Mars on the 16th in the dawn sky.  The new moon is April 22.  The crescent moon passes below the crescent Venus on the evening of April 26.  The first quarter moon returns on April 30, setting length of the synodic (phase based) month as 29.5 days.

The first quarter moon is Dec. 3. As Jupiter disappears into bright twilight by mid-December, Venus is still moving away from the Sun and passes within two degrees south of Saturn on December 11. The Full Moon, the Yule Moon, is also that Wednesday evening. The waning gibbous moon will interfere with the peak of the Geminid meteor shower on the morning of Dec. 14.The last quarter moon is on Dec. 18.

The moon is a slender waxing crescent for Halloween setting in the west about the time that trick or treaters should be getting worn out. So get out the scopes and give your guests a telescopic treat as well, with Jupiter just south of the moon, and Saturn east of them in the western twilight.