• The young moon will appear as an extremely slender lunar crescent after sunset for some parts of the world on Monday, September 17. But don't expect to see the moon after sunset today at northerly latitudes. The best place for catching today's young whisker-thin waxing crescent moon is from the Southern Hemisphere. Depending on where you live, it might be possible for you to spot the moon less than one day after new moon, which came to pass on September 16, at 2:11 Universal Time.
• What's the youngest moon you can see?
• Our feature chart at top shows the

moon's place in the sky for about one-half hour after sunset at mid-northern North America latitudes. Chances are, though, that you won't see the moon from this part of the world - even with binoculars. At mid-northern latitudes in Europe and Asia, the moon follows the sun beneath the horizon even sooner after sundown than it does in North America. In short, we expect few - if any - northern sky watchers to catch the moon today.
• In fact, people at northerly latitudes might not even spot Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Given an unobstructed horizon, however, Northern Hemisphere viewers should be able to see the planets Mars and Saturn low in the southwest sky at nightfall. Binoculars - as always - help to bring these worlds into visibility all the sooner after sunset.

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