Look to the southern sky at sunset on May 26 to see the waxing gibbous moon shining close to the sparkling blue-white light of the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo, ahead of this week's rare "Blue Moon".

The 83%-lit moon will sit a little under 40 degrees above the southern horizon — roughly the width of four clenched fists stacked at arm's length — with Spica close to its left.

Spica's light represents not one, but two colossal stars, which orbit each other once every four days. Together, they shine with a combined luminosity of more than 12,000 suns, according to the astronomy website EarthSky.

Turn a pair of binoculars or a small telescope on the moon to see an arc of light shining close to the line separating night from day on the lunar surface, created as sunlight glances off the peaks of the Montes Jura mountain range on the northwestern edge of Mare Imbrium.

Then sweep your gaze towards the equator to spot the 58-mile-wide (93-kilometer) Copernicus Crater, surrounded by bright streaks of material blasted out during the violent impact that formed it. Finally, follow the shadowy night-day divide downward to find the approximate location of the south lunar pole, which could serve as a landing zone for the planned 2028 Artemis 4 moon mission.

You may notice the moon drifting slowly towards Spica throughout the night, before both objects set in the west in the early hours of May 27. By sunset on the following evening, the moon will have jumped to Spica's lower left as it continues on an orbital path that will see it meet the red supergiant Antares in the constellation Scorpio on May 31, as the second full moon of the month, known as a "Blue Moon", takes to the night sky.

Want to capture gorgeous photos of Earth's natural satellite? Then be sure to read our guide to photographing the moon, along with our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your lunar photography with Space.com's readers, then please send your image(s), along with your name, location and any comments you have on the shoot to spacephotos@space.com.

Don't miss the first quarter moon shining close to Jupiter in the daytime sky this week!

Earth's moon is one of the few objects bright enough to be seen in the daytime sky — along with the most dazzling planets such as Jupiter and Venus and, more rarely, Jupiter, under ideal conditions. Then there's the sun, whose light saturates the atmosphere from dawn until dusk, shielding the cosmos from our sight.

This week, the moon will be visible gliding silently through the daytime sky from today (April 22), up until the next full moon phase on May 1.

Why can I see the moon during the day?

The moon rises and sets about 50 minutes later with each passing night, according to NASA (local moonrise and moonset times depend on location). As a result, it can appear in both the daytime and nighttime depending on its phase. For example, a first quarter moon rises around midday and sets around midnight, making it easy to spot in the afternoon sky, while a last quarter moon rises around midnight and lingers into hours after sunrise.

Where will the moon be in the daytime sky?

Look to the eastern sky at midday on April 22 to find the 30%-lit waxing crescent moon close to the horizon, with its lower half hidden in shadow. Jupiter will be visible as a steady point of light 5 degrees below the lunar crescent — roughly the width of your three middle fingers held at arm's length against the sky — though you may need a pair of binoculars to spot it in the glare of the daytime sky.

The moon will tread a lazy arcing path high overhead in the daytime sky for viewers in the U.S., before gracing the southwestern sky at sunset, ready to begin its night shift and set around midnight.

Is it safe to observe the moon with a telescope during the day?

Observing the moon through a telescope or binoculars during the day does not pose a risk to your vision, though the utmost care must be taken to never point your scope or binoculars in the direction of the sun, as doing so can cause immediate and permanent loss of sight. Try to position your telescope in the shade, with a large object or building blocking your line of sight to the sun and be sure to keep a check on its position as it travels towards the western horizon throughout the day.

The dark forms of lunar maria, or lunar seas, will be easy to see with the naked eye, scarring the lunar surface where ancient lava flows once flooded networks of impact basins before hardening to form sweeping basaltic planes. A telescope will also reveal dramatic shadows playing across craters that sit close to the line separating night from day on the lunar surface, known as the terminator.

Want to get a closer look at the moon? Then be sure to peruse our picks of the best telescopes and binoculars for exploring the night sky. You may also want to read our guide to photographing the moon, along with our roundup of the top cameras and lenses for astrophotography.

Editor's Note: If you capture an image of the moon in the daytime sky and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please send your lunar photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Look to the western sky about 30-90 minutes after sunset on April 19 for a fleeting but incredible sight, as the razor-thin crescent moon shines above the Pleiades open star cluster and Venus in the early spring sky.

The upturned 11%-lit waxing crescent moon will shine approximately 20 degrees above the western horizon — the width of two clenched fists held at arm's length — just two days after the new moon on April 17.

A cluster of stars surrounded by a diffuse glow should be visible to the lower right of the thin lunar crescent. That's the Pleiades, a collection of over 1,000 blue-white stellar bodies colloquially known as the Seven Sisters, after its most prominent members: Asterope, Alcyone, Celaeno, Electra, Maia, Taygete and Merope.

Venus will be visible below the moon, appearing as a bright evening star setting just two hours after the sun, so be sure to find a clear view of the western horizon if you hope to see the three striking objects come close to lining up in the evening sky!

The ice giant Uranus will lurk 5 degrees to the upper right of Venus at a magnitude, or brightness, of just +5.8, making it almost impossible to spot with the naked eye. Its proximity to the horizon will make it even more challenging to spot on the evening of April 19. However, a pair of binoculars or a telescope may allow you to resolve its tiny greenish disk hanging in the blackness of space.

You may notice a soft glow illuminating the shadowed side of the lunar disk as it glides silently towards the horizon, as sunlight bounces off Earth's cloudy surface to strike its natural satellite. The phenomenon — known as "earthshine", the "Da Vinci Glow", or "the old moon in the new moon's arms"- is most easily seen on the nights surrounding the new moon phase, when the angle between the moon and Earth leaves them well positioned to share our sun's light.

Want to see the wonders of the cosmos for yourself but aren't sure where to start? Then why not check out our beginner's guide to stargazing, along with our picks of the best telescopes and binoculars for exploring the post-sunset realm.

Editor's Note: If you capture a photo of the moon and Pleiades and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Look to the southern sky as darkness falls on March 27 to see the thickening form of the waxing gibbous moon glowing close to the stars of the Beehive Cluster (M44) at the heart of the constellation Cancer, the crab.

The 77%-lit moon will begin the night less than 2 degrees above the stars of the M44 open cluster, which plays host to roughly 1,000 gravitationally bound stars. The lunar disk will sweep right-to-left across the upper-stars of the Beehive over the course of the night, from the perspective of viewers in the northern hemisphere, at least, making its closest approach at 23:54 EDT (0354 GMT on March 28).

M44 appears as a small, milky patch of light to the naked eye on dark moonless nights. However, the glow of the nearby waxing moon on March 27 may pose a significant challenge to observing the open cluster as it rests close to Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis, the central stars in the constellation Cancer.

A pair of binoculars can help reveal up to 20 of the cluster's brightest stars, while a 6-inch telescope will bring dozens more stars into view. The cluster formed around 600-700 million years ago, making it relatively young in the context of the 4.6 billion year history of our galaxy, according to NASA.

Turn your telescope on the moon to see the dark expanses of lunar mare scarring its ancient surface, where lakes of liquid lava flooded impact craters before hardening in the space environment. March 27 is also an excellent time to spot the shadowed forms of Copernicus and Tycho — two colossal impact craters surrounded by streaks of bright reflected material

Copernicus can be found close to the line separating night from day on the lunar surface, known as the terminator, while Tycho's 53-mile-wide (85-kilometer) impact basin is located far to the south, featuring a shadowed eastern rim and pronounced central peak.

Want to see the moon up close and witness the ancient light of star clusters shimmer before your eyes? Then be sure to check out our picks of the best telescopes and binoculars for exploring the night sky. While you're at it, why not take a peek at our guide to observing the lunar surface?

Editor's Note: If you captured an image of the moon with M44 and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please e-mail your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Look high above the southeastern horizon in the hours following sunset on Jan. 27 to see the waxing gibbous moon shine alongside the Pleiades open star cluster in the constellation Taurus.

At sunset, the 76%-lit moon will dominate the winter sky, with the Pleiades positioned less than 5 degrees to the right of the moon. Located about 440 light-years from Earth, the light we see from the Pleiades tonight began its journey in the late 1500s, long before the invention of the telescope! The soft glow cast by the roughly 1,000-strong stellar hive will become more apparent as dusk fades to night, though the reflected light of the waxing moon will make viewing it with the naked eye a greater challenge than on previous nights.

Both the moon and Pleiades will be close enough to share the field of view of a pair of 10X50 binoculars, which will help reveal the handful of dazzling blue-white stars from which the cluster gets its "Seven Sisters" moniker — Asterope, Alcyone, Celaeno, Electra, Merope, Maia and Taygete.

A telescope with an aperture of 6 inches will bring dozens more, fainter stars of the ancient cluster into view. It will also allow you to explore a host of dramatically shadowed impact sites — such as the Clavius and Tycho craters — scarring the southern lunar surface close to the line separating night from day, known as the terminator.

Over the course of the night, the moon will appear to drift away from the Pleiades, before finally setting shortly after 3 a.m. local time on Jan. 28. Remember to use a trusted website like Time and Date to discover the exact times that the moon will rise and fall from your location.

Want to see the clue-white stars of the Pleiades and the craters of the moon up close? Then be sure to read our roundups of the best telescopes and binoculars for exploring the night sky. Astrophotographers may also want to read our guide to photographing the moon, along with our picks of the best lenses for immortalizing the post-sunset realm.

Editor's Note: If you capture the moon shining with the Pleiades and want to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

The half-lit moon will appear to skip past the red star Antares in the constellation Scorpius on the nights surrounding its first quarter phase on Aug. 30-31 this week.

On Aug. 30, skywatchers can spot the nearly half-lit moon hanging a little less than 20 degrees above the southwestern horizon at sunset. Antares will shine as a bright red point of light roughly 5 degrees to the upper left of the waxing moon. Remember, the width of your middle three fingers held at arm's length is the equivalent of 5 degrees in the night sky, while your clenched fist accounts for approximately 10 degrees!

The moon officially reaches its first quarter phase at 2:25 a.m. (0625 GMT) on Aug. 31. At this time, the entirety of the right side of the lunar disk will be directly illuminated by sunlight, presenting the ancient basaltic plains of Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis to exploration, while its left side will remain veiled in impenetrable darkness.

By sunset on Aug. 31, the lunar disk will have shifted to the left side of the sparkling red star. Antares is among the brightest stars visible to the naked eye in the northern hemisphere and is often known as the 'heart of the scorpion', owing to its central position in the constellation Scorpius. Antares is, in reality, a binary star system, made up of a red supergiant star with a white main sequence companion, though the light of the red giant dominates the naked-eye view from Earth.

Following its brush with Antares, the moon will continue eastward through the stars of the constellations of Sagittarius, Capricornus and Aquarius ahead of its full moon phase on Sept. 7. The event will coincide with a total lunar eclipse, as Earth passes directly between the lunar disk and the sun, bathing its natural satellite in shadow, which in turn will trigger the appearance of a dramatic blood moon.

Read more: Total lunar eclipse 2025: Everything you need to know about the next blood moon

Photographers interested in capturing the event should read our article on how to image a lunar eclipse, while those looking to upgrade their equipment should check out our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.

Don't miss the waxing crescent moon shine alongside Spica and the stars of the constellation Virgo in the hours following sunset on July 30.

Look 20 degrees above the southwestern horizon in the hour following sunset on July 30 to find the waxing crescent moon — now 32% lit — hanging in the evening sky, with Spica shining as a bright point of light less than 4 degrees to the upper left of the lunar disk. Remember, the span of your clenched fist held at arms length is approximately 10 degrees in the night sky, while the tip of your little finger measures roughly 1 degree!

Despite its appearance, Spica is not a single star, but rather a binary system composed of a pair of massive stellar bodies that orbit one another once every four days at a separation of approximately 11 million miles (18 million kilometers). The combined light of these stars shines over 12,000 times brighter than our sun, making Spica a prominent feature in the night sky, despite its remote position 250 light-years from Earth.

Both the moon and Spica will set a little over two hours after the sun on July 30 for viewers in the U.S, with the binary system growing more conspicuous as our parent star slips farther below the horizon.

Around this time, the moon's Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") is visible as a tiny dark oval visible to the naked eye on the northeastern region of the lunar surface, with the combined expanses of Mare Serenitatis ("Sea of Serentity") and Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility") dominating the equatorial region close to the line separating night from day.

Stargazers with access to a small telescope with an aperture of 4 inches or more can also pick out the prominent Theophilus and Cyrillus craters on the northwestern shore of Mare Nectaris ("Sea of Nectar") on July 30. Note Theophilus' pronounced central peak, which formed when liquified rock rebounded in the aftermath of the cataclysmic asteroid strike that heralded its creation.

Looking to explore the lunar surface for yourself? Then why not read our roundups of the best telescopes and binoculars available in 2025. While you're at it, be sure to check out our guide to observing the moon with a telescope, or photographing its ancient terrain using a DSLR camera.

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

The moon makes its close approach to Uranus on Saturday (Feb. 25) providing an excellent guide for skywatchers to spot the seventh planet from the sun. 

During the close approach, both the moon and Uranus will be in the constellation of Aries, the ram. According to In the Sky during the close approach, the 5-day-old moon will pass Uranus within around 1 degree. From New York City, the pairing of the moon and Uranus will be visible high in the sky to the west shortly after sunset until around 11:25 p.m. EST (0425 GMT), just before the moon sets. 

The moon will have a magnitude of -11.4, with the minus prefix indicating a particularly bright object over Earth, while Uranus will be significantly dimmer with a magnitude of 5.8. 

Related: Uranus: Facts about the ringed planet that sits on its side

The moon will have a right ascension of 02h49m00s during the close approach with a declination of +17°08'. Uranus, on the other hand, will have a right ascension of 02h50m50s and declination of +16°02'. The differing right ascensions mean that during the close approach, the two celestial objects won't be in conjunction. 

The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus is the solar system's third largest world after Jupiter and Saturn. The planet is four times as wide as Earth and according to NASA, if Earth was the size of an apple, Uranus would be as big as a basketball. 

Despite the fact that the moon and Uranus will make a close approach on Saturday, they will still be too widely separated to be viewed in the narrow field of view of most telescopes, depending on magnification level and focal ratio. The close approach will be visible in the wider field of view of binoculars and should be observable with the naked eye in the right conditions, however. Uranus is just about visible to the eye at this time of year with dark skies and the right weather conditions. 

As an ice giant, most of the material that comprises Uranus is an icy fluid of water, methane, and ammonia, below which is a solid rock core. At a distance of 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) from the sun, Uranus takes 84 Earth years to orbit our star.

That means since it was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1781, humanity has only seen the ice giant complete two orbits, once in 1865, and then in 1949. Its third orbit will be completed in 2033. 

If you're hoping to catch a glimpse of the moon and Uranus individually during the close encounter, our guides for the best telescopes are a great place to start. If you want to glimpse the two objects together, Space's best binoculars guide should prove useful. 

And if you're looking to snap photos of the night sky, check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well as our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.

Editor's Note: If you get a photo of distant Uranus and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com. 

A waxing crescent moon is aglow with earthshine in this beautiful night sky photo.

Photographer VegaStar Carpentier took this photo on Nov. 17 from Paris, France. Carpentier used a Canon EOS 1000D camera and a refractor 1000mm telescope to capture the image.

When sunlight reflects off the Earth and shines onto the moon, the phenomenon is called "earthshine." A crescent moon is between a new moon and a half moon. The moon in this image is waxing at 16.7 percent of lunar illumination.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, send images, comments and location information to managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

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