How to find the Moon phase for a date
- Pick a date and a time, or press Now for the Moon right now. Choose your time zone so phase times are shown on your clock.
- Read the phase name, how much of the Moon is lit and its age in days since the new moon. The drawing shows it as you see it from your hemisphere.
- Check the dates of the next new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter, and the table of phases for the coming months.
Why the Moon has phases
The Moon is always half lit by the Sun. What changes is how much of that lit half faces us as the Moon goes round the Earth. At new moon it sits roughly between us and the Sun, so we see its dark side; at full moon it is on the far side of the Earth and we see the whole lit face. The quarters come when it is at right angles to the Sun, and half the disc is lit.
Waxing means the lit part is growing towards full; waning means it is shrinking towards new. A waxing Moon is in the evening sky after sunset, a waning Moon rises late and is best seen in the morning.
Age and illumination
The Moon’s age is the time since the last new moon: about 7.4 days at first quarter, 14.8 at full moon and 22.1 at last quarter on average. Illumination is the fraction of the visible disc that is lit, 50% at the quarters and close to 100% at full moon.