The half-lit moon will appear to skip past the red star Antares in the constellation Scorpius on the nights surrounding its first quarter phase on Aug. 30-31 this week.

On Aug. 30, skywatchers can spot the nearly half-lit moon hanging a little less than 20 degrees above the southwestern horizon at sunset. Antares will shine as a bright red point of light roughly 5 degrees to the upper left of the waxing moon. Remember, the width of your middle three fingers held at arm's length is the equivalent of 5 degrees in the night sky, while your clenched fist accounts for approximately 10 degrees!

The moon officially reaches its first quarter phase at 2:25 a.m. (0625 GMT) on Aug. 31. At this time, the entirety of the right side of the lunar disk will be directly illuminated by sunlight, presentin

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