During the morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 22, skywatchers across much of the western US will be able to watch as a waning gibbous moon — 75 percent illuminated by the sun — crosses in front of probably the most noteworthy and popular of all the star clusters in the sky: the Pleiades.
The Pleiades cluster (also known as Messier 45 or M45) can be found low in the east-northeast part of the sky this week around 10 p.m. local daylight time. By 4:30 a.m., they are literally soaring nearly overhead, high in the south.
