Moon Phases
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Waxing Gibbous 96% illuminated
Rise: 6:01 PM
Set: 5:47 AM
Eye on the Night Sky, April 18, 2026
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Today:
Barely past new, the barest of a crescent Moon will follow the setting sun toward the horizon in the west-northwest. Appearing shortly after, barely above to the Moon’s left, will Venus, and above Venus will be the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters. Although they are faint, and not easy to see in the fading twilight or with the Moon nearby, the Moon is so thin it makes for a delightful sight this evening.
Sunday:
In the west at around 8:30 PM. the waxing Crescent Moon becomes brighter in the fading twilight. The emerging Jupiter appears high in the west-southwest. Almost straight to the Moon’s left in the bright star Aldebaran, and to its left Betelgeuse, in Orion. Above and to the Moon’s right appears the bright star Capella. And Venus, below the Moon, is dropping quickly toward the horizon in the west-northwest.
Monday:
Just after the sun has set, at around 7:45 PM, Venus, will appear low in west. Venus is the brightest of all the planets in the night sky, bright enough to muscle through a lot of twilight. As the twilight fades its apparent brightness will increase, but it won’t be around for long. Even assuming a flat horizon, it will set in the west-southwest at 9:55 PM, parting company with the brightest objects that remain: The crescent Moon, still up in west-southwest, and Jupiter, about halfway up in the west.
Start Chart:
Total Lunar Eclipse
The Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow early Tuesday morning, March 3rd, 2026.
The Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow late at night on Tuesday, March 3rd, just as twilight increases. By the time the Moon is fully eclipsed, it becomes difficult to see in the brightening twilight, and it sets only 20 minutes after the eclipse is total.
The Earth’s rotation causes the stars, as well as the Moon, to rise in the east and set in the west. The Moon’s orbital motion, however, goes the opposite way, with the Moon actually moving from west to east, but much, much more slowly. This means the Moon’s expected motion, lowering toward the western horizon, comes from the Earth’s rotation. The Moon’s actual orbital motion causes it to move into the Earth’s shadow from lower right to upper left. This explains why the shadow starts on the Moon’s upper left, and progresses to the lower right.
Lunar eclipses aren’t rare, but they are also not frequent. The next Total Lunar Eclipse visible here is in June 2029, followed by another in December of 2029.
This program is a partnership between the Fairbanks Museum and Vermont Public.