Look Up

The moon just began its cycle and, as of Saturday, will be just three days old. This is when you should be able to see a sliver and it will become fuller. This is called the waxing crescent phase until it reaches the first quarter, which will be Tuesday. You might recall from previous Look Ups that although the moon phase is called the first quarter, actually half is visible. It’s called the first quarter because it’s in the first quarter of its cycle. Then it enters its waxing gibbous phase. Gibbous is Latin and means humpbacked since the moon appears lopsided until becoming full. The moon will continue to travel by some planets. The ones that will be noticeable to us will be Saturn, Thursday and then Jupiter, Friday. So if you Look UP and toward the south Thursday night, just after sunset, look for the moon and Saturn. They will appear real close to each other. This is also known as an appulse. From San Mateo, according to In-The-Sky.org, they will be visible at around 6:50 p.m. That is about 20 minutes after sunset. The pair should reach their highest point in the sky or the culmination at 8:12 p.m., again if you’re observing from San Mateo. Then again on Friday the moon will have an appulse with Jupiter. Again, look south just after sunset to see this pair. You should be able to see them at the same time as Saturn and they’ll have the same time of culmination as Saturn, as well. According to Almanac.com, there are many farmers who plant by the phase of the moon and as a result there are some sayings and suggestions that farmers live by although some say it’s moon folklore. For instance, the moon up to the waxing phase are considered fertile and wet. Or, the new and first-quarter phases, known as the light of the moon, are considered good for planting above-ground crops, putting down sod, grafting trees and transplanting. Lastly, slaughter when the moon is waxing for juicier meat.

Look Up appears in the weekend edition. If you have any astronomical questions or facts you’d like to share email news@smdailyjournal.com with the subject line “Look Up.”