Over the next few evenings, Saturday December 14^th, Sunday the 15^th, and Monday the 16^th the waning gibbous Moon will orbit eastward starting from about 7-8^o south of Pollux to passing about 6-8^o from M-44, the ‘Beehive Cluster’, an open star cluster in the constellation Cancer the Crab. By Monday the 16^th the waning gibbous Moon will be about 2^o from the heart of Leo the Lion, the star Regulus.
   During a 24-hour rotation of the Earth the Moon will have moved approximately 15^o eastward. In terms of Moon position that 15^o is equal to one hour — (divide 360^o by 24 hours = 15^o). What this has to do with the Moon’s position is that each day or night the Moon rises about 1 hour earlier. These 3 graphics show the effect of this in that it will be about 1 hour later for the Moon to be more or less in the same spot in the sky relative to the horizon.

   
   
   

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