[Primarygun]

All stars rise from the east except at the poles.
However, it is hard to determine whether the moon comes from the south-east or the north-east even when the relative positions of the earth and the moon is given.
Is there anybody who has a clever method to determine the direction in which the moon rises?

[fattyjwoods]

The moon does not rise. It stays in the sky unlike the sun. eg in a clear day with no clouds you can faintly see the moon providing its before noon but then it just dissapears

[insane_alien]

fattyjwoods said:

The moon does not rise. It stays in the sky unlike the sun. eg in a clear day with no clouds you can faintly see the moon providing its before noon but then it just dissapears

uhhh what? a huge mass of rock a quarter of the earths size just dissapears don't you think the apollo missions would have discovered that quite shockingly?

the moon does appear to rise just like the sun and stars due to the earths rotation and since it is also orbiting the earth the position and time it rises at can change.

a simple astronomy program can show you ith reasonable accuracy where it will rise. redshift is a good commercial program for it but if you want a free and opensource version then i recommend stellarium.

[Sisyphus]

The moon will rise and set within about 5% of where the sun rises and sets, because that's how much the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth is inclined to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.

And yes, of course it rises and sets, for the same reason the Sun rises and sets: the Earth is spinning. It will make a complete circuit in approximately 24 hours, 50 minutes. (That is where tides come from.) The lunar "day" is longer than the solar day because the rotation of the Earth has to "catch up" with the moon, which is orbiting the Earth in the same direction the Earth is rotating.

[fattyjwoods]

sorry, my bad

[Jacques]

Around new moon, it will rise around the same direction as the sun.
at first quarter the moon rise around the direction the sun will rise in 3 month. For example next first quarter this month is the 20th and it will rise where the sun will rise the 20th of November.
Full moon rise where the sun rise 6 month from now.
That is why winter full moon go so hight in the sky.
and last quarter where the sun was rising 3 month ago.

It is not precisse but it can help figuring out

[Shadowwalker]

Hello my name is Shadowwalker (Cherokee) and I'm new, I'm looking for an answer to a question I have been asking for years. Why does the Moon rise and set in the Day sky as well as in the night sky when it is supposed to be in their night sky(0n the other side of the Earth) disreguarding the principals I was taught all my life, I have heard all types of answers up to i'm seeing a mirror image of the moon---DUHHH the Earth is a circular object(well a semi pair shaped wobbly object) and it would be hard to reflect the image to rise and set. I hope I get a truthful an respectful answer.

[Shadowwalker]

To clear up a little detail so the question is a lil clearer, I see the moon in the daytime sky and in the nighttime sky as if it sets and rises with night and with day(on any clear day or night). you can go out on any day (of course it has to be a clear day)and see the moon in the daytime sky after it has already set from the nighttime sky and yes it does move across the sky during the daytime. That was the basis of the question I have asked over the years and still the answer eludes me.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

The Moon orbits the Earth once every 28 days, not once every 24 hours, so it doesn't show up at consistent times. Instead, the Earth rotates around as the Moon moves relatively slowly, so your side of the planet rotates away from the Moon sometimes and rotates towards it sometimes. The Moon doesn't come into view exactly every 24 hours because it's also moving, so when your side of the Earth rotates away from the Moon it has to do slightly more than a full rotation to "catch up" with the Moon.

Because of this slight difference, the Moon rises at a different time every day -- sometimes during the day, sometimes during the night.

[Shadowwalker]

Cap said:

The Moon orbits the Earth once every 28 days, not once every 24 hours, so it doesn't show up at consistent times. Instead, the Earth rotates around as the Moon moves relatively slowly, so your side of the planet rotates away from the Moon sometimes and rotates towards it sometimes. The Moon doesn't come into view exactly every 24 hours because it's also moving, so when your side of the Earth rotates away from the Moon it has to do slightly more than a full rotation to "catch up" with the Moon.

Because of this slight difference, the Moon rises at a different time every day -- sometimes during the day, sometimes during the night.

I think you missed what the question asked -- I see the moon in the daytime sky and in the nighttime sky as if it sets and rises with night and with day(on any clear day or night). you can go out on any day (of course it has to be a clear day)and see the moon in the daytime sky after it has already set from the nighttime sky and yes it does move across the sky during the daytime. That was the basis of the question I have asked over the years and still the answer eludes me.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

You'd only be able to see it during the day over half of the month (or, rather, the lunar cycle). The other half of the month it'll rise at night.

[Cmac22]

Shadowwalker said:

I think you missed what the question asked -- I see the moon in the daytime sky and in the nighttime sky as if it sets and rises with night and with day(on any clear day or night). you can go out on any day (of course it has to be a clear day)and see the moon in the daytime sky after it has already set from the nighttime sky and yes it does move across the sky during the daytime. That was the basis of the question I have asked over the years and still the answer eludes me.

Im having trouble understanding your question but ill take a stab at it. I think this is what your asking but i could be completely wrong:

out at night you see the moon setting. then the next day you see the moon again. how is this possible?

Well, (if this is your question) then i think this is the answer though i might be wrong again haha. say your out at night and you see the moon setting at 9 PM. you go to bed and wake up the next day. you look outside around 10am or so and you see the moon rising.

basicly the moon will be in the sky a bit less than 12 hours a day. so if it sets at night, it will be rising again and in the sky 12 hours or so later!

i hope this answers your question!

but again its rising setting times change constantly because it is also orbiting the earth like others said. the moons a tricky little guy

[TamiChee]

I too have wondered, for a long time, where to expect the moon to rise in Arizona. I have lived here all my life (that's 40+ years) and don't have a feel for where it will show up. I have yet to find anyone with a confident answer to this question.

[swansont]

http://aa.usno.navy..../docs/AltAz.php

When the altitude is 0, that's the rise/set, and the azimuth tells you where to look.

[Tristgo]

BTW There is quite a lot of information about the direction of the moon, sun and other celestial objects on my website and in the book I wrote about the subject. Hope you don't mind the shameless plug, but I hoped those reading this page might find them of some interest.

This post has been edited by Phi for All: 7 May 2010 - 03:11 AM
Reason for edit: links removed

[Phi for All]

Tristgo said:

BTW There is quite a lot of information about the direction of the moon, sun and other celestial objects on my website and in the book I wrote about the subject. Hope you don't mind the shameless plug, but I hoped those reading this page might find them of some interest.

We wouldn't have minded them if you would have contributed more than just the plugs and this one post. Participate, let us learn more about you, post some more and you can plug your book in your signature.

[Shrinithi]

But how about a quarter moon? i ve observed it in the west at t start of night.. Am i right ?

Jacques, on 10 August 2007 - 04:34 PM, said:

Around new moon, it will rise around the same direction as the sun.
at first quarter the moon rise around the direction the sun will rise in 3 month. For example next first quarter this month is the 20th and it will rise where the sun will rise the 20th of November.
Full moon rise where the sun rise 6 month from now.
That is why winter full moon go so hight in the sky.
and last quarter where the sun was rising 3 month ago.

It is not precisse but it can help figuring out

[D H]

Shrinithi, on 30 January 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

But how about a quarter moon? i ve observed it in the west at t start of night.. Am i right ?

At first quarter, the moon rises more or less in the east at about local noon and sets more or less in the west at about local midnight. At sunset the first quarter moon is close to its maximum elevation and is more or less in the south (assuming you live in the northern hemisphere).

If you saw the moon in the west just after sunset you were probably looking at a waxing crescent moon rather than first quarter moon. Today (Jan 30, 2012), the moon is 45% of full, so it is one day shy of quarter moon.