The Moon today is a New Moon
0% of the Moon is lit and it is 0.1 days into its cycle. It is growing toward full.
As seen from the Northern Hemisphere.
Next moon phases
Moon calendar for October 2026
Each day shows the Moon at local noon. Tap a day to see it in detail.
Moon phase on any date
Birthdays, weddings, the night you met: pick a date to see the Moon as it was (or will be) where you live.
The eight phases of the Moon
The Moon has no light of its own. As it orbits Earth every 29.5 days, we see different amounts of its sunlit half. The cycle runs: new moon (dark, near the Sun), waxing crescent, first quarter (half lit, right side), waxing gibbous, full moon (fully lit, opposite the Sun), waning gibbous, last quarter (half lit, left side) and waning crescent.
New, first quarter, full and last quarter are exact moments. The other four are the stretches in between, so they last several days each. On this site a principal phase is named for about half a day either side of its exact time.
Why the Moon rises later each day
The Moon moves about 13 degrees east along its orbit every day, so Earth has to turn a little further before it comes up again. On average moonrise is about 50 minutes later each night, though the gap ranges from under 30 minutes to over an hour depending on the season and your latitude.
Questions people ask
What phase is the Moon in today?
The Moon is a New Moon right now, 0% lit and 0.1 days old. The page updates for your own location and time as soon as it loads.
Is the Moon phase the same everywhere on Earth?
Yes. Everyone sees the same phase at the same moment. What changes with location is the local date and time of each phase, when the Moon rises and sets, and which way the lit side faces: people in the Southern Hemisphere see it flipped left to right.
What does illumination mean?
Illumination is the share of the Moon disc that is lit by the Sun as seen from Earth. 0% is a new moon, 50% a first or last quarter, 100% a full moon.
What is the Moon age?
The age is the number of days since the last new moon. A full lunar cycle (new moon to new moon) takes about 29.5 days.
How do you know if the Moon is waxing or waning?
A waxing Moon is growing toward full and, from the Northern Hemisphere, is lit on the right. A waning Moon is shrinking toward new and is lit on the left.
How are these times worked out?
Every number is calculated in your browser with the open-source astronomy-engine library, which is accurate to about one arcminute. Rise and set times use the standard horizon with refraction, so they can differ by a minute or two from other sites.