During this period the moon reaches its new phase on Sunday June 5th. At this time the moon will lie close to the sun and will be invisible at night. Later in this period, the waxing crescent moon will enter the evening sky but will not interfere with meteor observing.
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During this period the moon reaches its last quarter phase on Sunday May 29th. At this time the half-illuminated moon will rise shortly after near 0100 local summer (LST) and will remain above the horizon the remainder of the night. While the half-illuminated moon is bright, successful meteor observations can be obtained by simply keeping the moon out of your field of view. Conditions improve with each passing night as the moon wanes and rises later morning.
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During this period the moon reaches its full phase on Saturday May 21st. This is the worst time to try and view meteor activity as the glare from the moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. Conditions improve slightly as the moon wanes and rises later in the evening. Unfortunately early evening meteor rates are very low, moon or no moon.
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During this period the moon waxes from half illuminated to nearly full by the end of the period. This weekend the waxing gibbous moon will set during the early morning hours for locations in the mid-northern latitudes. This will allow a few hours of observations under dark skies between moonset and the start of morning twilight. This window of opportunity to view under dark conditions shrinks with each passing night until late in the week when there is interfering moonlight all night long.
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During this period the moon reaches its first quarter phase on Friday May 13th. On that date the moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near 0200 local summer time (LST) for most locations in the mid-northern latitudes. This weekend the slender waxing crescent moon will pose no problems for meteor observers. It will set during the late evening hours allowing the more active morning hours to be free of interfering moonlight.
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