Best Nights for Observing and Astrophotography

Article and Photos by Randall Light, M.D.
Email: randylightmd@yahoo.com
Website: www.randalllight.com

What nights each month will be good for observing and astrophotography is a repeated question. Apart from the weather, the primary considerations are the phase of the moon and the times of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset. The percentage of the moon that is illuminated is also worth noting. The lunar calendar below shows the phase of the moon for each day of the month. The blue box enclosing days each month indicates those days when the moon is not visible before midnight, or if it is visible before midnight is less than 25% illuminated. I typically use a graphic like this as wallpaper for a computer desktop. It has been a valuable reference each month. Enjoy.