Baptized in the fire of yesterday's total solar eclipse, a very young Moon emerges into the night sky. 

Too Delicate To Handle
A 24-hour-old waxing crescent Moon from May 14, 2010.
Bob King

Fresh from its brush with the sun during yesterday's total solar eclipse, the Moon waxes to a wiry crescent today (March 9th) and practically leaps into the evening sky.

For many skywatchers, this is an opportunity to spy a Moon younger than a day old. From the East Coast, the crescent will be just 21.5 hours past new; 22.5 hours for the Midwest; 23.5 hours for the mountain states; and 24.5 hours old viewed from the Pacific Coast.

While these times won't crack the record books, for many, seeing such an exceptionally thin Moon is thrill enough. The Moon's a rough place: boulder-strewn, no air, extreme temperatures, and riddled with more holes than the sign down the road. But somehow it appears tender and fragile when viewed as a crumbly crescent.

 A Full Crescent Moon
As the Moon fills out in the coming days, it will swiftly move into a darker sky, showing off the earthlit portion to dramatic effect. Try to see how many craters and lunar maria you see in this earthly "twilight" in binoculars.
Bob King

And I do mean crumbly. Shadows from mountain peaks and craters walls slice across the narrow Moon, giving it a broken, uneven appearance especially when viewed in binoculars.

Amateur astronomer and writer Stephen James O’Meara saw a thread-thin crescent only 15 hours and 32 minutes after new Moon in May 1990 using only his eyes. Mohsen Mirsaeed of Iran holds the record for youngest Moon seen with optical aid. He observed from a mountain site using giant 40×150 binoculars on September 7, 2002, and held the thinnest of crescents in view for one minute. At the time, the Moon was just 11 hours 40 minutes old and 7.5° from the Sun.

New Moon crescent
Thierry Legault's near-infrared image of the extremely thin lunar crescent captured at the moment of new Moon on July 8, 2013. Click here for a larger view.
Thierry Legault

French amateur and astrophotographer Thierry Legault made the ultimate young Moon sighting when he captured a photo of the Moon at the instant it was new on July 13, 2013, using a sophisticated camera set-up. Although invisible to the naked eye and telescope at the time, his photos speak a thousand words.

Look for the slim March Moon starting about 15 to 20 minutes after sunset low in the western sky, where it stands about 5° high. That's not much for elevation, but provided the sky is haze-free, you should have no problem seeing this delicate creature. Low altitude and twilight may overwhelm the earthshine, the twice reflected sunlight from Earth that fills out the remainder of the Moon with a smoky fluorescence. Then again, maybe not. Binoculars should show it.

Double Feature - New Moon Followed By Young Moon
The sky facing west on from the central United States (latitude 40° North) 25 minutes after sunset, Central time, March 9, 2016.
Chris Marriott's SkyMap

Spring's the best time for mid-northern observers to seek a young crescent Moon, for it's then that the ecliptic stands at its steepest angle to the horizon. Even though Wednesday night's Moon lies only about 13° from the Sun (a little more than one fist held at arm's length), that's almost all vertical distance directly above the setting Sun.

Low Fall Moon? Maybe Not
Like a surprise? Come this October, when the ecliptic makes a shallow angle to the horizon at dusk, the ~1-day-old crescent Moon will be virtually the same height above the horizon as the March Moon for reasons described below.
Chris Marriott's SkyMap

The situation is more dire in the fall, when the ecliptic reclines in the southwestern sky, making its shallowest angle to the horizon. Good luck finding a one-day Moon in October! Unless of course that happens to be this October. Not only will the moon be a few hours older and further from the Sun as seen from the central United States, it also lies a fair distance north of the ecliptic, extending its viewing time!

If the Moon were to stay put on the ecliptic this October and were the same age — 22.5 hours — as this month's crescent, it would scrape the horizon. Funny how the placement of the Moon's 5.1° inclination to Earth's orbit can really make a difference.

March brings back the saw-whet owls, the smell of earth, and drip of water. I always enjoy an excuse to get out. When going out involves a splinter Moon, all the better.

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Comments


Image of Joe Stieber

Joe Stieber

March 9, 2016 at 12:33 pm

I've been looking forward to this young moon for a while now, and amazingly, the weather forecast looks favorable for this evening (March 9th) at my location here in Southern New Jersey -- especially since I saw the old moon, 38.5 hours before new, on Monday morning, March 7th. If I succeed this evening in spotting the young crescent, about 21.5 hours old, then it would be a 60-hour span from the old to the young moon for me. As Bob notes, these times are nowhere near records, but nevertheless, these slender crescents are still sublime to view.

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Image of Anthony Barreiro

Anthony Barreiro

March 9, 2016 at 4:34 pm

Good luck, Joe! I was looking forward to looking for the Moon this evening, but Northern California is socked in with clouds and rain.

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Image of Bob King

Bob King

March 9, 2016 at 6:32 pm

Good luck, Joe! I hope you see it. Like Anthony, we'll also be clouded in otherwise I'd be out like you.

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Image of Joe Stieber

Joe Stieber

March 9, 2016 at 9:32 pm

Sorry to hear about your cloudy weather guys! There were some streaky clouds along the western horizon here at sunset, but not enough to block the view. I picked up the slender crescent with 10x50 binoculars at 6:11 pm EST, 10 minutes after sunset, when it was 21 hr 17 min old. I was able to see it with unaided eyes at 6:26 pm. Here's a snapshot I took at 6:27 pm: http://sjastro.org/

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Image of Bob King

Bob King

March 9, 2016 at 10:48 pm

Wow Joe - very nice photo - thanks for sharing it! 21 hr 17 min is very young as far as I'm concerned. I can even see the moon's broken texture. Good going.

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tinatippett

March 17, 2016 at 2:22 pm

i joined this because i had the opportunity to photograph the moon a few days after the solar eclipse on march 11, 2016. and it was so unusual that i have been trying to find information on it. plus looking forward to the lunar eclipse coming up on the 23rd or around then? withe the moon on the west side of the sky instead of the east and could "see" it barely but with about a quarter of it bright. i just had to try and photograph it. we did have clouds, been very overcast and cloudy here more often then not. but did get one or two fairly nice ones.

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