By Dan Hicks

September’s Lunation 1258 ended with our new moon of October 2 (12:39 MDT) when our waning crescent moon vanishes in front of the sun to emerge as Lunation 1259’s waxing crescent moon, debuting on our western

horizon on October 3 immediately after sunset, only 1.6% illuminated and a mere two degrees above the sun itself which, for our Cranbrook area, will generally appear to set at 18:44 MDT when the sun descends to four degrees above a favorable western horizon (eg. solar altitude four degrees above our astronomical horizon at azimuth 259 degrees, and solar-lunar elongation 13.5 degrees).

Lunation 1259 will culminate in our Hunter’s Moon of October 16 – our largest full moon of the year (a visually imperceptible distinction), rising from a favorable eastern horizon at 18:52 when it attains a four-degree altitude (azimuth 083 degrees/ becoming 100% illuminated on the 17th at 05:26, albeit at perigee on the 16th at 19:00 -357,174 km away).

Lead image: Partial lunar eclipse and silhouetted jet, Longueuil, Quebec. Pierre Arpin. September 17, 2024. Nikon D7500 camera + Sharpstar refractor 94 mm f/5.5 telescope. Skyandtelescope.org. Photo submitted

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