Most astronomers, amateur or professional, prefer dark skies without the moon.
The moon dims fainter objects making them harder to study, and there are more astronomers interested in faint objects than in the moon.
However, the moon is of intense scientific interest, and it is an important part of our culture.
I love observing the moon. It changes position and phase on a daily basis and has innumerable naked eye and telescopic sights - mountains, craters, and maria (singular mare), large dark lava flood plains once thought to be seas.
The moon is in a waxing (growing larger) gibbous (more than half lit) phase. It will be full on Wednesday.
Over the next week, the moon passes by many astronomical sights worth seeing. It will dim them, but it will be a good guide for recognizing these objects later once the moon is out of the sky.
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Look south tonight at 8:30 p.m. and find the 8-day-old moon a little west of south. To its right (west) will be Saturn above and Spica below forming the base of an elongated isosceles triangle with the moon at its apex.
To the moon's left (east) will be Scorpius the Scorpion with its head and pincers to the right and its stinger to the left.
Friday night the moon will move closer to Scorpius being just to the west (right) of its head.
On Saturday night the moon sits north of Scorpius fairly close to Antares, the bright red star that is the heart of the Scorpion.
On Sunday and Monday the moon will be north of Sagittarius the Archer.
By the time it is full on Aug.1, the moon will have moved into Capricornius the Sea Goat. Be sure to go out every night and enjoy the changing phases of the moon as it glides past Scorpius and Sagittarius.
Contact Tim Hunter at skyspy@azstarnet.com