The Moon Begins Its Monthly Planetary Tour with Saturn

After dazzling the world with its brightness and large size over the past few days, the Moon began its famous tour on Friday evening with a short visit to Saturn. On July 15, the waning crescent Moon will shine at a hand's width beneath Saturn, at 6 degrees to the celestial south, before sunrise, according to geophysicist Chris Vaughan, an amateur astronomer at SkySafari Software who oversees the Night Sky calendar for ProfoundSpace.org. Telescopes can be used to follow the event, as the Moon and Saturn will be close enough to share the same field of view. The exact time of the event will vary depending on your location, so you will need to check a sky-watching app like SkySafari or a program like Starry Night to determine the appropriate times. The duo will be relatively close throughout the night, according to Vaughan, who said, "Before sunrise, the Moon and Saturn will move to the bright southwestern sky. The daytime motion of the sky will cause Saturn to be positioned to the right of the Moon." After visiting Saturn, the Moon will continue its monthly planetary tour by connecting with Jupiter on Tuesday, July 19. Between midnight and dawn, the illuminated half of the Moon will shine a few finger widths from the gas giant, or about three degrees to the southeast celestial, according to Vaughan.