Don't wait for the full moon: Here's when the moon looks best through a telescope

If you're planning to point a telescope at the moon this week, don't wait for the full moon. The best lunar views actually come when the moon is only half-lit or slightly gibbous, when long shadows carve dramatic detail across craters, mountains and vast lava plains along the lunar sunrise line. Most beginner skywatchers naturally assume a full moon offers the best view. In reality, that's often when the moon appears at its brightest, flattest and most glaring through a telescope. …