Moon & Neptune

The moon will be less than 1° from Neptune tonight. One degree is the width of your little finger held at arm's length.

Neptune, at magnitude 7.8, is too faint to see naked-eye. But if you own a telescope, it will be easy to find using the moon as your guidepost.

You can also try finding Neptune with binoculars. The typical binocular has a 5° field of view, so Neptune and the moon, with only 1° separating the two, should both fit in the field of view . You may want to move most of the moon out of the field of view though. Otherwise its glare may keep you from seeing the surrounding stars and planet.

Use the chart below to find Neptune.