The moon will sweep close to the Pleiades open star cluster in the early morning hours of Aug. 16-17, with the ice giant Uranus lurking unseen nearby.
Look to the eastern horizon an hour after midnight on Aug. 16 to see the half-lit lunar disk — which hits its third quarter phase at 1:12 a.m. EDT (0512 GMT) — roughly 5 degrees to the upper right of the famous Pleiades star cluster. A day later, on Aug.17, the moon will be sitting about 5 degrees to the lower left of the Pleiades. Remember: the width of your three middle fingers held at arm's length measures roughly 5 degrees in the night sky.
