Thin Crescent Moon by Stan Cholak
Thin Crescent Moon (Stan Cholak)

Thin Crescent Moon by Stan Cholak

Photo of the Week for April 24, 2015 What’s the youngest Moon you’ve ever seen? It’s a fun […]

Photo of the Week for April 24, 2015

What’s the youngest Moon you’ve ever seen? It’s a fun personal challenge to spot a very young lunar crescent — and you have the chance to do so once a month. An unobstructed western horizon is a must. Try finding the Moon with your binoculars, and then with your eyes alone. And if you have a telescope with go-to pointing, that can make the task even easier.

Thin Crescent Moon by Stan Cholak
Thin Crescent Moon (Stan Cholak)

Andrew, Alberta, photographer Stan Cholak recorded this view just before moonset on April 19, 2015, when the Moon was roughly 33 hours old. If you look carefully you can just see a hint of earthshine. Cholak used a Nikon D800 DSRL camera equipped with a 400mm f/5 telephoto lens for this 1/6-second exposure at ISO 800.