Moon to be in Auriga
Taken by Bob Beal on February 18, 2024 @ St. George, Utah, USA
Click photo for larger image
  Camera Used: Panasonic DMC-GX8
Exposure Time: 10/10000
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200
Date Taken: 2024:02:18 16:16:21
 
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As part of the Moon being at or near its farthest-north point above the ecliptic during this year, tonight the Moon rides the border between Auriga and Gemini. For the St. George vicinity its center point resides in Auriga from 9:52pm-1.52am MST, while some part of its area will lie in Auriga from 9:07pm-4:03am--it's never fully inside the constellation. It's short notice and just a curious item, but it might be worth checking out. Timings will vary elsewhere. With no bright stars around the Moon and it being a bright fat gibbous nearly 10 days old and 75% illuminated (as the photo taken this afternoon shows), you'll surely need binoculars to verify the fact.

If you're far enough south--say the equator--it is fully inside Auriga. Farther than 44°S and I think kappa Aur gets occulted (I didn't check this). If so, you'll have much clearer proof the Moon is in Auriga, a non-Zodiac constellation.

Astro data and map: Sky Safari Pro v.6 (with further annotations)

Photo data: Panasonic GX8, 100-300mm @ 300mm, (f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 200)

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