MOON OBSERVING GUIDE
The eight phases of the Moon
The Moon does not make its own visible light. We see sunlight reflected from its surface, and the fraction of the sunlit half that faces Earth changes as the Moon orbits our planet.
What is a waning gibbous Moon?
A waning gibbous Moon comes after full Moon and before last quarter. More than half of the visible disk is still illuminated, but the illuminated fraction decreases from night to night.
Phase order
New Moon
The near side is almost entirely unlit from our viewpoint.
Typical viewing: It stays close to the Sun in the sky and is generally difficult to see.
Waxing Crescent
A thin illuminated crescent grows each evening.
Typical viewing: Look low in the western sky after sunset.
First Quarter
About half of the visible lunar disk is illuminated.
Typical viewing: It is commonly visible from afternoon through the first half of the night.
Waxing Gibbous
More than half of the disk is illuminated as the Moon approaches full.
Typical viewing: It is visible from late afternoon into the night.
Full Moon
Nearly the entire Earth-facing disk is illuminated.
Typical viewing: It rises around sunset and remains visible for much of the night.
Waning Gibbous
The illuminated fraction shrinks after full Moon.
Typical viewing: It rises later and is especially well placed late at night and toward dawn.
Last Quarter
About half of the disk is illuminated again, on the waning side.
Typical viewing: It is usually best from around midnight into the morning.
Waning Crescent
A thin crescent remains before the next new Moon.
Typical viewing: Look low in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Which phase is the Moon in now?
A phase name alone cannot tell you the exact moonrise or moonset time. Those times depend on date and observing location, so use the current Moon, calendar and tonight views together.