Get your binocular out and look for the Beehive Cluster. It is visible with the naked eye and can be found between the constellations Gemini and Leo. It is an open cluster of about 1000 stars.
The small planet Mercury is further from the Sun and visible from 8.20 pm to 10 pm in the constellation Aries. The brightness is not in our favour though and it will be hard to spot. Venus is too close to the Sun and will not be visible. The red planet Mars is best seen from 0.20 am onwards in the constellation Ophiuchus. The giant planet Jupiter is best seen from 8.25 pm onwards in the constellation Leo, until about 5 am. And the planet with the rings, Saturn is visible in the constellation Ophiuchus from 0.40 am onwards.
The Lyrids meteor shower is active from Saturday 16th to the week after on 25th April. Its peak or maximum is on Friday 22nd April. It has a zenith hourly rate of around 10 meteors per hour. However, the Full Moon will severely disturb the observations, with only the brightest meteors being visible.
Wednesday 13 April
Today, this 13th, in 1970 an explosion during the Apollo 13 mission led to one of the most spectacular rescue missions in US space history. The explosion aboard the Odyssey spacecraft left the crew stranded for four days more than 200000 miles or 320000 km from Earth. An oxygen leak forced the Apollo 13 astronauts to abandon ship and return in lunar module. Against all odds, the three astronauts and thousands of others brought the capsule safely back to Earth. The astronauts were Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, and Commander Jim Lovell, and the mission was to have made the third manned landing of the Moon.
The International Space Station (ISS) is visible as a slow moving bright "star" in the sky, visible without any aids such as telescope or binocular. ISS appears at 8.19 pm in the Western horizon. Culmination or highest point in the sky is at 8.24 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 45°. ISS disappears at 8.28 pm in the East South East.
The Moon is close to the star Lam Gem at 9.10 pm with less than 2 lunar diameters separation. The Moon phase is 47%.
One orbit of ISS around the Earth takes about 90 minutes. ISS appears again at 9.55 pm in the West. Culmination is at 10 pm in the South West and 15° above the horizon. ISS disappears at 10.01 pm in the South South West and at an altitude of 14°.
The Moon is in maximum libration East at 0.20 am. Mare Crisium limb is tipped into the Earth's view.
To watch the features on the giant planet Jupiter, and to see its 4 bright Moons, you will need a small telescope or a binocular held steady. The Great Red Spot is in transit on the disc of the planet at 0.57 am.
Like the International Space Station, Iridiums are as well satellites. They are visible with the naked eye and move in the night sky, slowly as a bright "star" or "dot". Iridiums flare up sudden and are worth a watch! At 4.40 am an Iridium flare appears in the West South West at an altitude of 58° in the constellation Bootes.
At 4.59 am it is First Quarter Moon. This is the 2nd Northernmost First Quarter Moon of the year. The former more Northern First Quarter Moon was on 15 March 2016. The next more Northern First Quarter Moon is on 5 March 2017.
Thursday 14 April
This day in 1611 the word “telescope” was first used in public by Prince Federico Cesi at a banquet held by the pioneer scientific society, the Academy of Linceans (or Lynxes, of which he was a founder). It was held to honour Galileo, on a grand hillside estate. After Galileo showed the guests the satellites of Jupiter, other celestial marvels, and even an inscription on a building three miles away. Although the name was announced by Cesi to christen Galileo's instrument, the word telescopio (in Italian) was perhaps devised from Greek words, by a Greek poet-theologian, who happened to be present.
At 8.48 pm the Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet Jupiter.
ISS appears at 9.03 pm in the West, passes the bright star Alnilam in the constellation Orion. Their separation is only 0.357°. ISS then passes the bright star called Alnitak with a separation of 0.736°. Culmination is at 9.08 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 22°. ISS disappears at 9.11 pm in the South South East and 9° above the horizon.
The Jupiter Moon Io disappears for an occultation at 1.52 am.
A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 3.05 am in the West North West at an altitude of 30° in the constellation Leo Minor.
At 6.30 am the Sun is in equation of time zero The apparent solar time is now equal to the mean solar time.
Friday 15 April
This morning at 9.10 am the small planet Mercury is in dichotomy of half phase. The two inner planets, Mercury and Venus do have phases like our Moon.
ISS appears at 8.11 pm in the West. Culmination is at 8.16 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 30°. ISS disappears at 8.21 pm in the South East.
A fairly bright Iridium flare appears at 9.38 pm in the East North East at an altitude of 77° in the constellation Ursa Major.
After an orbit of about 90 minutes, ISS appears again at 9.48 pm in the West. Culmination is at 9.52 pm in the South West at only an altitude of 8°. ISS disappears at 9.54 pm in the South South West and 6° above the horizon.
Get your telescope out or a good binocular. At 11.05 pm the Jupiter Moon Io begins its transit and at 11.55 pm it begins its shadow transit. At 0.48 am the Jupiter Moon Europa begins its transit. The Jupiter Moon Io ends its transit at 1.19 am and at 2.10 am its shadow transit ends. At 2.32 am the Jupiter Moon Europa begins it shadow transit. It will be 2.35 am when the Great Red Spot transits the Jupiter disc.
An Iridium flare appears at 2.59 am in the West North West at an altitude of 30° in the constellation Leo Minor.
At 3.35 am the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its transit.
Saturday 16 April
ISS appears at 8.56 pm in the West. Culmination is at 9 pm in the South West at an altitude of 13°. ISS disappears at 9.04 pm in the South South East.
This evening the Moon lies near to the bright star Regulus. At 9.20 pm the star called Subra is about 8 lunar diameters separated.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on Jupiter at 10.27 pm.
The red planet Mars is stationary of getting in retrograde at 3.10 am.
Sunday 17 April
The Golden Handle is visible on the Moon from 3.20 pm to about midnight. The Sun rises on the Jura mountains, while Sinus Iridum is still in shadow.
Only for when you have a safe and secure solar telescope! The International Space Station will cross the disc of the Sun at 6.30 pm. The transit duration is 2.26 seconds. The Sun altitude is 14°.
The Moon is close to the bright star Rho Leo at 9.20 pm. They are about 9 lunar diameters apart.
Time to watch Jupiter. At 11.15 pm the Jupiter Moon Ganymede disappears for an occultation. The Jupiter Moon Europa ends its eclipse at 11.44 pm. The Jupiter Moon Ganymede reappears from the earlier occultation at 2.34 am and begins its eclipse at 2.51 am. The Great Red Spot is in transit over Jupiter at 4.14 am.
The planet Mercury dims now to magnitude 0 at 4 am.
The waxing gibbous Moon lies near to Jupiter in the evening. They are at its closest at 4.50 am when they are only 5 lunar diameters apart. Unfortunately, if you leave it that late, the altitude is far too low. The Moon phase is 86%.
A very bright (day time) Iridium flare is visible at 6.01 am in the South at an altitude of 67° in the constellation Lyra.
The (minor planet) Pluto is now stationary and getting in retrograde.
Monday 18 April
The small planet Mercury is at its greatest elongation at 6.14 pm. The planet is now nearly 20° East of the Sun. Unfortunately, it is not too bright. So it will be hard to find.
At 11.46 pm a rather bright Iridium flare appears in the West South West at an altitude of 25° in the constellation Cancer.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on the Jupiter disc at 0.05 am.
Another bright Iridium flare appears at 2.49 am in the West North West at an altitude of 25° in the constellation Lynx.
The Moon is close to the star called Zavijah in the constellation Virgo at 5 am. They are only 3 lunar diameters apart. The altitude is only 3°, so look and locate the star earlier. The Moon phase is 92%.
Tuesday 19 April
This day in 1971 the Salyut 1 was launched on a Proton rocket by the Soviet Union. Although primitive, having only a single main module, it was the first space station ever in Earth orbit. Its first crew launched in Soyuz 10 but was unable to board the space station due to a failure in the docking mechanism. The second crew arrived in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 productive days. Tragically, a pressure-equalization valve in the Soyuz 11 re-entry capsule opened prematurely when the crew returned to Earth, killing all three. Salyut 1 re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 11 October 1971. Six more Salyut stations followed in the Soviet program, leading up to the launch of space station Mir on 20 February 1986.
The Moon is close to the star Zaniah in Virgo at 9.20 pm. They are less than 4 lunar diameters separated.
At 1.40 am the Jupiter Moon Callisto begins its transit.
An Iridium flare appears at 2.43 am in the North West at an altitude of 25° in the constellation Lynx. Another flare, at about the same place in the sky, though, far more brighter, appears a few minutes later at 2.46 am. At 4.12 am another flare is visible in the West at an altitude of 54° in the constellation of Canes Venatici.
The Moon is close to the bright star called Porrima at 5.10 am. They are about 6 lunar diameters separated. Also the star called g29 Virginis is the same distance from the Moon. The altitude above the horizon is only 6°, so have a look earlier. The Moon phase is 96%.
Wednesday 20 April
The Moon moves through the constellation Virgo. It only gets its closest to the bright star Spica in the early morning. Spica will be about 5° South of the Moon. At 1.06 am the star called The Vir will disappear behind the dark side of the Moon. You will need a small telescope or a good binocular to watch. The Moon phase is 99% and very bright. So do not look too long as it will damage your eyes!
With a small telescope or a good steady binocular you can watch the surface and its Moons from the giant planet Jupiter. At 1.44 am the Great Red Spot will transit the disc of the giant planet Jupiter.
Satellites are easy to spot and to watch with the naked eye. They are like slow moving "stars" or "dots" in the night sky. Sometimes those satellites are getting brighter, or have a flare. We call them Iridium flares. At 4.06 am a very bright flare appears in the West at an altitude of 54° in the constellation Canes Venatici.
The meteors, called Lyrids are best seen from 9.40 pm to 4.25 am. Look in the direction of the constellation Hercules. The Lyrids are considered as rather rapid with a velocity of 48 km/s. Expect to see approx. 4 meteors an hour.
Get in touch with me via www.patrickpoitevin.weebly.com if you need more information.
SKY WATCH week Wednesday 6 April 2016
Some of the planets are quite close to the Sun and hard to find. Mercury is only 14° from the Sun in the constellation Aries. Best seen around 8.15 pm if you want to try. See below the opportunities to find Mercury easy near the Moon. Venus is only 16° from the Sun and in the constellation Pisces. If you want to have a go, Venus is best seen before Sun rise at about 6.25 am. Mars is best seen from midnight onwards in the constellation Ophiuchus. Jupiter is visible throughout the night in the constellation Leo. Saturn is best seen from 1.10 am onwards in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Wednesday 6 April
Today in 1852 Edward Sabine announced that the 11 year sunspot cycle was “absolutely identical” with the geomagnetic cycle. Later, using a larger dataset, Rudolf Wolf confirmed this fact. Since Isaac Newton's explanation of the effect of the Sun's gravity on Earth, this was the first new phenomenon of the Sun interacting with the Earth.
The Moon occults the planet Venus after Sun rise, and so in daylight at 8.59 am. You will need a telescope or a good binocular to see Venus disappearing behind the Moon. The altitude is 23° and the Moon phase is 2%. The Sun altitude is 22°. A nice challenge
Daylight, at 11.35 am the Sun rotation axis is at maximum tilt.
The International Space Station, called ISS appears at 8 pm in the West South West. ISS is a satellite and visible as a bright moving "star" in the sky. It is easy to spot with the naked eye. You do not need a telescope or binocular. ISS reaches the highest point or culmination in the sky at 8.05 pm in the South South East and 43° above the horizon. ISS disappears at 8.10 pm in the East. One orbit around the Earth takes ISS approximately 90 minutes. ISS appears again at 9.37 pm in the West. Culmination is at 9.42 pm in the South at an altitude of 70°. ISS disappears at 9.43 pm in the East South East at 40° above the horizon. A very short appearance once more at 11.13 pm in the West. Disappearance already after 2 minutes at 13° altitude.
Features on the giant planet Jupiter, as well as the 4 brightest Moons can be observed with a small telescope, or, if you could hold still, with a good binocular. The Great Red Spot is in transit on the planet at 0.10 am. At 2.52 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins its transit over the planet. At 3.32 am the shadow of the Jupiter Moon Io begins its crossing over the giant planet.
Satellites, such as ISS and Iridiums are easily to see in the sky. Moving as a bright "dot" or "star" in the sky. Iridiums flare up at a sudden. At 3.37 am a flare appears in the West at an altitude of 39° in the constellation Ursa Major.
Back to Jupiter. At 3.48 am the Jupiter Moon Europa disappears for an occultation behind Jupiter. At 5.06 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its transit over the planet.
Thursday 7 April
It is New Moon at lunchtime at 12.23 am. This is the nearest New Moon of the year. The former closer New Moon was on 18 February 2015. The next closer New Moon is on 30 August 2019.
The International Space Station (ISS) will have an orbit manoeuvre rocket burn at 5.03 pm. Some timings might change slightly, but should not be that far different as the calculations below.
The Moon is in perigee at 8.29 pm. The distance of the Moon is 223229 miles or 357166 km. This is the 2nd nearest perigee of the year. The former closer perigee was on 28 September 2015. The next closer perigee is on 14 November 2016.
At 8.02 pm the Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet Jupiter.
ISS appears at 8.44 pm in the West. Culmination is at 8.49 pm in the South at an altitude of 67° where ISS will pass close to the bright star Pollux in the constellation Gemini. They are only 0.195°separated, so worth a watch! ISS disappears at 8.53 pm in the East 12° above the horizon. After one orbit of 90 minutes ISS appears again at 10.21 pm in the West and disappears after a few minutes at 10.25 pm in the West South West at an altitude of 44°.
The Jupiter Moon Io disappears for an occultation at 0.05 am and at 3.04 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its eclipse.
Friday 8 April
Today in 1947 the largest Sunspot group recorded was observed on the Sun's Southern hemisphere. Its size was estimated at 7 billion square miles, or an area of 6100 millionths of the Sun's visible hemisphere. Sunspots are areas of somewhat cooler surface than the surrounding solar gases, and appear as dark spots on the solar surface. Astronomers measure the sizes of Sunspots as millionth fractions of the Sun's visible area. Typically, a big sunspot measures 300 to 500 millionths, whereas the entire surface area of the Earth is only 169 millionths of the solar disk.
ISS appears at 7.52 pm in the West South West. Culmination is at 7.57 pm in the South South East at an altitude of 59°. ISS disappears is at 8.02 pm in the Eastern horizon.
It was New Moon yesterday. The thin crescent Moon now emerges into the early evening twilight and appears close to Mercury above the Western horizon. The planet is reasonably bright, but both are fairly close to the horizon and spotting one might help to find the other. Find a good clear horizon to spot both. As always with Mercury and a slender crescent Moon, using binoculars will help. Look at about 8 pm. Mercury is about 6° North of the Moon, which is about 11 lunar diameters. The Moon phase is 3%, 32 hours after New Moon. The Moon sets at 9.26 pm, 91 minutes after the Sun.
At 9.18 pm the Jupiter Moon Io begins its transit.
ISS appears at 9.28 pm in the West. Culmination is at 9.33 pm in the South at an altitude of 63° when ISS will pass the bright star Pollux in the constellation Gemini with less than 3 lunar diameters apart. ISS disappears at 9.35 pm in the East South East and 31° above the horizon.
At 10 pm the Jupiter Moon Io begins its shadow. And at 10.27 pm the Jupiter Moon Europa begins its transit.
ISS appears again at 11.04 pm in the West. But only for 3 minutes, as it will disappear at 11.07 pm in the West and 14° above the horizon.
Time to get your telescope out or at least a good and steady binocular. Look for Jupiter and watch the dance of its Moons. At 11.33 pm the Jupiter Moon Io ends its transit. The Jupiter Moon Europa begins its shadow crossing at 11.54 pm. The multi shadow and Moon event is for 21 minutes. One Moon (Europa) and 2 shadows (from Io, Europa) are in front of Jupiter. After midnight, at 0.15 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its shadow and at 1.13 am the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its transit. The Great Red Spot is in transit on the planet at 1.49 am. At 2.41 am the Jupiter Moon Europe ends its shadow.
At 5.01 am an Iridium flare appears in the South West at an altitude of 62° in the constellation Corona Borealis.
Saturday 9 April
The waxing crescent Moon, now a little “thicker” compared to yesterday, passes South of M45, the Pleiades open star cluster, and helps to form a triangle with the bright star Aldebaran. Meanwhile, Mercury still low to the horizon, but visible to the unaided eye if you know where to look. Were you able to find it yesterday?
ISS appears at 8.36 pm in the West. ISS first passes the bright star Aldebaran at 8.39 pm, then the star Castor at 8.41 pm and reaches its highest point in the sky at an altitude of 69° in the South. ISS disappears at 8.44 pm in the East and 9° above the horizon.
Spot the Earthshine on the Moon at 9.40 pm
The Jupiter Moon Io ends its eclipse at 9.32 pm and at 9h40 pm the Great Red Spot will be in transit on the giant planet.
ISS appears once more at 10.12 pm in the West and after 5 minutes disappears at 10.17 pm in the South West at an altitude of 37°.
The distant planet Uranus is in conjunction with the Sun at 10.30 pm and not visible. The distance to the Earth is 20.968 AU. One Astronomical Unit (AU) is the average distance of the Earth to the Sun.
An Iridium flare appears 3.27 am in the West North West at an altitude of 35° in the constellation Leo Minor.
Sunday 10 April
The waxing crescent Moon has grown a day older and now presents an excellent opportunity to see Earthshine on its unlit surface. As an added bonus, it appears very close to the bright star Aldebaran and is deep within the heart of the Hyades, an open star cluster that’s well worth scanning with binoculars. If you have a pair, note the position of the Moon among the cluster’s stars and then come back an hour later; has the Moon moved at all? Lastly, if you missed Mercury last night, you might want to try your luck again as the planet is slowly edging away from the Sun and is rising higher above the horizon.
At 9 pm the Moon is close to the star called Hyadum I. They are less than 3 lunar diameters apart. The Moon is also close to the star Hyadum II and are about the same distance apart. If you take a small telescope or a good binocular you will see the star The1 Tau disappearing behind the Moon at 9 pm. The star The2 Tau will disappear at 9.03 pm. Look for the Earthshine visible on the Moon!
At 9.10 pm the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its eclipse.
ISS appears at 9.19 pm in the Western horizon. Culmination is at 9.25 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 49°. ISS disappears at 9.26 pm in the South East 23° above the horizon.
A rather bright Iridium flare is visible at 10.10 pm in the North but only 10° above the horizon in the constellation Lacerta.
ISS appears once more at 10.56 pm in the West. ISS disappears after 3 minutes in the West South West 13° above the horizon.
The Moon is close to the bright star Aldebaran at 11.15 pm. The limb separation is only 0.57° or about 1 lunar diameter. The altitude is only 6°, so look for a clear and good horizon. The Moon phase is 17%. The Moon sets at midnight.
At 2.08 am the Jupiter Moon Ganymede ends its eclipse.
A very bright Iridium flare appears at 3.21 am in the West North West at an altitude of 35° in the constellation Leo Minor. The Great Red Spot transits the giant planet at 3.27 am.
Monday 11 April
Today in 1970 Apollo 13, the 3rd manned lunar landing mission, began with the successful launch of the spacecraft Odyssey from Cape Canaveral with crew James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert. Two days later, on 13 April disaster struck 200000 miles or 320000 km from Earth. A liquid oxygen tank exploded, disabling the normal supply of oxygen, electricity, light, and water. Swigert reported: “Houston, we've had a problem.” The lunar landing was aborted. After circling the Moon, the crippled spacecraft began a long, cold journey back to Earth with enormous logistical problems in providing enough energy to the damaged fuel cells to allow a safe return. On 17 April, with the world anxiously watching, tragedy turned to triumph as the Apollo 13 astronauts touched down safely in the Pacific Ocean.
The Moon is in maximum libration North at 5.52 pm. The North Pole and Mare Frigoris are tipped into the Earth's view.
ISS appears at 8.27 pm in the West. Culmination is at 8.32 pm in the South at 60° high. ISS disappears at 8.36 pm in the East South East.
The Earthshine is visible on the Moon at 9.20 pm.
A very bright flare is visible at 9.54 pm in the North at an altitude of 15° in the constellation Lacerta.
ISS appears once more at 10.03 pm in the West. Culmination is at 10.08 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 24°. ISS disappears at 10.09 pm in the South South West and 24° above the horizon.
The Great Red Spot is in transit at 11.18 pm. The Jupiter Moon Callisto begins its eclipse at 0.48 am.
An Iridium flare appears at 3.15 am in the West North West at an altitude of 34° in the constellation of Leo Minor.
The eclipse ends for the Jupiter Moon Callisto at 3.29 am.
Tuesday 12 April
Today in 1633 Galileo Galilei's second trial before the Inquisition began. At its conclusion, his belief that the Earth was not the centre of the Universe was pronounced heretical.
The constellation Virgo, the Virgin, is the 2nd largest constellation in the entire sky and is well placed for observation tonight. It can be found by drawing a curved line through the three stars of Ursa Major’s tail down through the bright orange star Arcturus and then on to blue-white Spica. When you look at Virgo, you’re actually looking away from the center of our own Milky Way galaxy and out into the far reaches of deep space. The stars themselves belong to the Milky Way, but if you were to scan the constellation with binoculars or a telescope under clear, dark skies, you might see a number of galaxies that lie millions of light years away. Each one contains hundreds of billions of stars. In fact, there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on the Earth. The big question is, how many of those stars have inhabited planets?
The Moon is in maximum declination North at 1.13 pm. This is the lowest Northernmost Moon position of the next 10 years. The former lower Northern Northernmost Moon position was on 16 March 2016. The next lower Northern Northernmost Moon position is on 27 February 2034.
The Solar rotation, called Carrington starts its rotation number 2176 at 7.54 pm. Good to know for Solar observers.
ISS appears at 9.11 pm in the West. ISS passes the bright star Bellatrix at 9.14 pm with about 2 lunar diameters separation. One minute after, ISS passes the bright star Betelgeuse with less than 2 lunar diameters separation. Culmination is at 9.16 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 34°. ISS disappears at 9.18 pm in the South East and 16° above the horizon.
The Moon's Earthshine is visible at 9.20 pm.
A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 9.48 pm in the North at an altitude of 16° in the constellation Lacerta.
ISS appears once more for a short pass at 10.47 pm in the West. ISS disappears at 10.51 pm in the West South West at an altitude of 9°.
The Moon is in maximum libration at 1.21 am.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet at 5.06 am.
Wednesday 13 April
Today in 1970 an explosion during the Apollo 13 mission led to one of the most spectacular rescue missions in US space history. The explosion aboard the Odyssey spacecraft left the crew stranded for four days more than 200000 miles or 320000 km from Earth. An oxygen leak forced the Apollo 13 astronauts to abandon ship and return in lunar module. Against all odds, the three astronauts and thousands of others brought the capsule safely back to Earth. The astronauts were Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, and Commander Jim Lovell, and the mission was to have made the third manned landing of the Moon.
The International Space Station (ISS) is visible as a slow moving bright "star" in the sky, visible without any aids such as telescope of binocular. ISS appears at 8.18 pm in the Western horizon. Culmination or highest point in the sky is at 8.23 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 45°. ISS disappears at 8.28 pm in the East South East.
The Moon is close to the star Lam Gem at 9.10 pm with less than 2 lunar diameters separation. The Moon phase is 47%.
One orbit of ISS around the Earth takes about 90 minutes. ISS appears again at 9.55 pm in the West. Culmination is at 9.59 pm in the South West and 15° above the horizon. ISS disappears at 10 pm in the South South West and at an altitude of 14°.
The Moon is in maximum libration East at 0.20 am. Mare Crisium limb is tipped into the Earth's view.
To watch the features on the giant planet Jupiter, and its 4 bright Moons, you will need a small telescope or a binocular held steady. The Great Red Spot is in transit on the disc of the planet at 0.57 am.
Like the International Space Station, Iridiums are as well satellites. They are visible with the naked eye and move in the night sky, slowly as a bright "star" or "dot". Iridums flare up sudden and are worth a watch! At 4.40 am an Iridium flare appears in the West South West at an altitude of 58° in the constellation Bootes.
At 4.59 am it is First Quarter Moon. This is the 2nd Northernmost First Quarter Moon of the year. The former more Northern First Quarter Moon was on 15 March 2016. The next more Northern First Quarter Moon is on 5 March 2017.
Get in touch with me via www.patrickpoitevin.weebly.com if you need more information.