Look to the west after sunset this week for a spectacular sight, as the razor-thin waxing crescent moon hangs low over the horizon with earthshine bathing the unlit surface in a soft, otherworldly glow.
This month new moon phase occurred at 9:23 PM EDT March 18 (0123 GMT March 19) as the moon lie between the sun and Earth in the daytime sky. Earthshine – also known as the Da Vinci glow, or romantically as the old moon in the arms of the new moon – occurs on the nights immediately before and after the new moon phasewhen sunlight bounces off the earth’s surface to hit the shadowy expanse of the moon’s disk.
Your first chance to see earthshine infusing the lunar surface will come just after sunset on March 19, though you’ll need to be lucky and stake out a viewing spot with an unobstructed view of the western horizon to have a fighting chance. The whisper-thin waxing crescent will be visible in the lower right of Venus 10 degrees above the horizon — about the width of your clenched fist held at arm’s length.
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You’ll have a much better chance of spotting the phenomenon at sunset the following night (March 20), when the lunar disc will have skipped Venusappears higher in the southern sky.
Look out for the moon’s upturned crescent, now only 2% illuminated, above evening star of Venus, while light reflected from Earth’s clouds picks out the faint shapes of the moon’s seas, or mare, scarring the moon’s ancient surface where lava once filled vast networks of impact basins.
Want to take a closer look at the moon? Then make sure to read our guides to best telescopes and binoculars to observe the night sky. Why not also read our guide to photograph the moonalong with our roundups of top lenses and camera housing for astrophotography.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your moon photos with Space.com readers, please send your photos and comments, along with your name and location, to spacephotos@space.com.
