Moon Phase Today
See the current phase of the Moon and how much of it is lit. Pick any date, like your birthday, to see what the Moon looked like that night.
Your result appears here.
By Shah Rukh, software developer · Last updated:
The 8 phases of the Moon
| Phase | What you see | |
|---|---|---|
| New Moon | 🌑 | Dark: the Moon is between Earth and the Sun |
| Waxing Crescent | 🌒 | A thin sliver, growing each night |
| First Quarter | 🌓 | Half lit, about a week after the new moon |
| Waxing Gibbous | 🌔 | More than half, still growing |
| Full Moon | 🌕 | Fully lit, rising around sunset |
| Waning Gibbous | 🌖 | Shrinking after the full moon |
| Last Quarter | 🌗 | Half lit, the opposite side to the first quarter |
| Waning Crescent | 🌘 | A thin sliver before the next new moon |
How the phase is calculated
A full cycle (a synodic month) lasts about 29.53 days. The calculator counts the days since a known new moon (6 January 2000) and divides by that length. It’s accurate to within about a day, which is enough to know what the Moon looks like.
In the Southern Hemisphere, like Australia, the lit side appears flipped left to right compared with these emojis.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next full moon?
It’s shown in the result above, based on the date you picked.
How long does the Moon take to go through its phases?
About 29.5 days, from one new moon to the next.
Is the moon phase the same everywhere on Earth?
Yes, the phase is the same worldwide, but the date may differ by a day between time zones.
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