Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Saturday, 21 June 2025 16:22

Monday 23rd to Sunday 29th June 2025

I'm going to continue last week's theme of things appearing close to each other, but this week the observations will be a bit more tricky!

First of all, if you fancy an early morning start on Monday 23rd, look towards the east north east at 3.30am to see a thin 7%-lit waning crescent Moon rise above the horizon. To the right of the Moon will be a very bright planet Venus. The Moon will also appear to be extremely close to the Pleiades open cluster of stars. If you oversleep, the challenge will become virtually impossible in the dawn twilight sky!

Pop back outside on the evening of Friday 27th, around 10pm, to see a 7%-lit waxing crescent Moon setting towards the west north west horizon. Slightly to the right of the Moon and closer to the horizon, you could try to spot planet Mercury, while to the left and higher in the sky, Mars will be more obvious.

We will have had a New Moon on Wednesday 25th, so the crescent you observed on Monday is classed as "waning" and you will notice that it was the left hand limb of the Moon that was illuminated. On Friday, the crescent will be "waxing" and this time, it will be the right hand limb of the Moon's surface that is lit-up by sunlight.

"Waxing" and "waning" are old English terms meaning "becoming brighter or stronger" and vice versa. The Moon is described as "waxing" as it heads towards a Full Moon, when it is at its brightest. Because of the angles between us, the Sun and the Moon, when it is waxing, the right hand side of its surface is always illuminated and if in a waning phase, then the left hand side is lit-up.