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your sky is very clear. The moon turned new - and rose and set with the sun - on October 15 at around 12 UTC. So the October 17 young moon will be about two days past new for all parts of Earth - two-and-a-half days for us in the U.S. Look shortly after sunset in a clear western sky. An unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset is always to your advantage when hunting for a young moon. The planet Mars and the star Antares appear to the upper left of the moon on October 17.
• A young moon is easier to spot in spring and harder to find in autumn. That's because the ecliptic - the pathway of the sun, moon and planets - hits the horizon at a shallow angle on autumn evenings. Meanwhile, on spring evenings, the ecliptic is nearly perpendicular to the evening horizon.
• That's also why angle of the young crescent moon with respect to the horizon is different in spring than in autumn. Keep in mind that the "horns" of the moon always point away from the sun. On autumn evenings, a young waxing crescent in the west is to one side of the sun sunset, and appears tilted steeply relative to the horizon. (See photos above and below)
• Meanwhile, on spring evenings - when the ecliptic is nearly perpendicular to the horizon - the young crescent is high above the sunset. The crescent itself is more parallel the horizon, exhibiting a "smile." Of course, why wouldn't the young lunar crescent be smiling right now at southerly latitudes? It's spring!
• So the moon will be much easier to see from Earth's Southern Hemisphere to (Continued on page 15)
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