Over the next 3 mornings, July 26, 27,and 28 before sunrise, the waning crescent Moon will be moving across the shoulders and head of the constellation Taurus the Bull. As it traverses the constellation pattern the waning Moon will come within about 8o from the open star cluster, the Pleiades and within about 4-5o from the v-shaped open star cluster the Hyades.
This should make for some good viewing through binoculars, especially on the 27th when the Moon passes about 2-3o from the reddish star Aldebaran in the Hyades. How close the conjunction between the Moon and Aldebaran will be depends greatly on your viewing location’s longitude. This graphic is for when the two are their closest which is 2.5o around 1 UT (8 pm CDT).
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- 26 July – 5 am CDT
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- 27 July – 5 am CDT
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- 28 July – 5 am CDT
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If you don’t already know the constellation, this is a great way to spot that v-shaped open star cluster, the Hyades. Then you can always find Taurus.
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