If you are lucky enough to live where your porch has a view to the eastern horizon you'll know that the sun will rise in a different spot each day.. moving to the north or south with the seasons. Does the MOON do this too? or does the moon rising point stay the same throughout the year? I was watching the almost full moon rise tonight from an overpass on 540 and wondered if I would be able to see it rise next month (or 6 months from now) from the same spot? I tried to figure this out myself but it made my head hurt.

MIKE MOSS SAYS:       Eileen,    I know just what you mean! Unlike the sun, the moon's orbit does not lend itself to quite as obvious an interpretation regarding the direction in which it will rise and set. The direction you note on a given day will be different the same day a month later, and may also be significantly different on the same date the next year. It can be calculated and predicted accurately, however, and there is an easy to use web page where you can do just that. You'll see listings of time, elevation (negative below the horizon and vice versa) and azimuth, which is the direction (clockwise from north) that it can be seen at any given time. This can be calculated for any day and for any location. See

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php