Astro Bob: Busy moon works both day and night

Most of the time we picture the moon in the nighttime sky. But it also spends plenty of time in daylight. Familiarizing yourself with the moon's daytime persona gives us a big-picture sense of how and in what direction it moves. You'll also become an ace at finding it both day and night. As the moon orbits Earth, its changing angle to the sun creates the different lunar phases. When it's between Earth and sun in new phase the near side is in darkness and invisible. When it's opposite the sun we see the entire nearside in sunlight as the full moon. From crescent to full — the top half of this diagram — you can often see the moon in the afternoon sky before sunset. From just after full until it's a waning crescent, the moon is visible in the morning sky after sunrise. Contributed / NASA with additions by Bob King First, let's consider a couple key facts about the moon. It orbits the Earth moving eastward a little more than a fist per day. Facing south, that would be to your