It’s a new month, and while the Moon may appear totally full, we’re still a couple of days away from this yet. But in the meantime, there’s still lots to spot on its surface.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Sunday, March 1, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. According to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide, 94% of the Moon will be lit up tonight.

With just your naked eye, tonight you’ll be able to see the Mares Imbrium and Crisium, as well as the Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars hanging about, dust them off and pull them out to catch a glimpse of the Mares Nectaris and Frigoris, and the Endymion Crater. And proud telescope owners will see all this and more, including the Apollo 15 and 17 landing spots, and the Schiller Crater.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon will be on March 3. The last Full Moon was on Feb. 1.

What are Moon phases?

According to NASA, the Moon takes about 29.5 days to orbit the Earth. Over the course of this period, it moves through eight recognisable phases, what we call the lunar cycle. While the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of its surface lit by the Sun changes as it continues along its path. The shifts in sunlight create the different appearances we see from Earth, ranging from a fully illuminated Moon to a thin sliver or near darkness. The eight phases are:

New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is for people who love golf.

As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Golf Equipment

• Green: Materials in a Baseball

• Blue: SEC School Locations

• Purple: First Names of Chicago Bears

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #523 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Golf Equipment – CLUB, GLOVE, RANGEFINDER, TEE

• Materials in a Baseball – CORK, LEATHER, RUBBER, YARN

• SEC School Locations – ATHENS, AUBURN, LEXINGTON, OXFORD

• First Names of Chicago Bears – CAIRO, CALEB, LUTHER, ROME

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 hour ago

Serial killers in film are often synonymous with slashers or crime procedurals, leaving very little to the imagination when it comes to narrative structure. Typically, you get a killer whose crimes slowly escalate, a damsel in distress who either becomes one of many victims or the final girl, and an ending where good prevails over evil and everybody goes home saying, “That’s just about what I was expecting.” I’m not knocking slashers or procedurals because they’re still fun and, when done well, make for a great viewing experience.

2023’s Woman of the Hour, on the other hand, ignores those familiar beats and tells its story through multiple timelines that converge at just the right moment. The audience understands how everything connects while the characters take a little longer to catch up from their respective vantage points, which makes the payoff all the more satisfying.

Even if you’re familiar with the true crime story involving real-life serial killer Rodney Alcala that the film is based on, Woman of the Hour reshapes those events into something so uniquely structured that you’ll wish more stories were told this way. As a viewer, you feel omniscient. The thrills come from waiting for the characters to realize what you already know.

Set On A Game Show Lot, But So Much More Than That

Set between 1971 and 1979, Woman of the Hour introduces Rodney Alcala, depicted strangling a woman in 1977 after luring her to a remote location for a photo shoot. The film then shifts to 1978 Los Angeles, where we meet our primary protagonist, struggling actress Sheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick), whose agent convinces her to appear as a contestant on The Dating Game.

Reluctant because she believes the gig is beneath her, Sheryl shows up to the taping and turns on the charm with Bachelor #1 (Matt Visser), Bachelor #2 (Jedidiah Goodacre), and Bachelor #3 (Daniel Zovatto), who just so happens to be Rodney Alcala. By this point, Woman of the Hour has already shown Rodney murdering a flight attendant named Charlie (Kathryn Gallagher) in 1971 New York City, along with the woman from the opening sequence. Now dialing in the charm for the TV lights, Rodney quickly gains the upper hand on The Dating Game, putting himself in position to win a weekend getaway to Carmel-by-the-Sea with Sheryl.

During the taping, a studio audience member named Laura (Nicolette Robinson) recognizes Rodney as the man who murdered her friend, but was never found by police. Panicked, she flees the production floor and knocks over a camera in the process. Her boyfriend dismisses her claims, and security brushes her off as well.

Before we learn Sheryl’s immediate fate, the film jumps to 1979, where a woman named Amy (Autumn Best) encounters Rodney under circumstances similar to his earlier victims. He offers to take her photos in a remote area, his violent side begins to surface, and the scene cuts away as Woman of the Hour transitions back to the game show. There, Sheryl takes creative liberties with her flirtatious questions, winning over the audience, and ultimately chooses Bachelor #3 as the winner.

The Suspense Comes From Knowing

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Rodney Alcala’s real-life murder spree in the 70s, which eventually led to his capture and incarceration, Woman of the Hour still generates relentless tension. By the time Sheryl meets Rodney on The Dating Game, we already know exactly what he’s capable of. Nobody else does.

Laura’s suspicions are met with condescension. Her boyfriend reassures her that game show producers aggressively vet contestants and run background checks before allowing them to participate. They don’t. Complicating matters further, Rodney is a serial killer operating across multiple states over several years who has not yet been definitively identified by authorities.

We witness Rodney’s crimes across separate timelines and see how easily he evades consequences. We catch glimpses of his mental state both when he commits violence and when he’s questioned by authorities, narrowly slipping through their fingers before relocating. We see how sly and charming he can be before he escalates, which makes his presence on The Dating Game all the more unnerving. He’s amiable enough to lure victims in, but that facade drops the second he senses control slipping.

The result is a nail-biting thriller where you know the killer from the moment he appears in the opening scene. The tension doesn’t come from guessing who did it. It comes from watching him zero in on Sheryl, who is blissfully unaware and simply trying to carve out a career in Hollywood, while Laura struggles to convince anyone to listen.

Woman of the Hour is streaming on Netflix.