The 8 Lunar Phases
The Moon completes one full synodic cycle every 29.53 days. As it orbits Earth, the angle between the Sun, Earth, and Moon changes — and so does the visible slice of the Moon that sunlight reaches. These eight snapshots are the canonical phases astronomers and calendar-makers have used for centuries.
Cycle position: 0%
The Moon is positioned between Earth and the Sun, so its illuminated side faces away from us. The New Moon is essentially invisible to the naked eye, marking the start of a new lunar cycle. Many cultures historically treated this moment as a fresh beginning.
Cycle position: 13%
A thin sliver of light appears on the right side of the Moon (in the Northern Hemisphere). 'Waxing' means growing — the illuminated portion is expanding each night as the Moon moves along its orbit around Earth.
Cycle position: 25%
Exactly half of the Moon's visible face is illuminated. Despite the name 'half moon', this is technically a quarter of the full lunar cycle, which is why astronomers call it the First Quarter. It rises around noon and sets around midnight.
Cycle position: 38%
More than half but not fully illuminated, the Waxing Gibbous continues to grow toward the Full Moon. 'Gibbous' refers to any shape between half and fully lit. This phase is highly visible in the evening sky.
Cycle position: 50%
The entire visible face of the Moon is illuminated as Earth sits between the Moon and the Sun. Full Moons rise at sunset and set at sunrise, providing light throughout the entire night. Each Full Moon has a traditional seasonal name.
Cycle position: 63%
After the Full Moon, illumination begins to shrink ('waning'). The Waning Gibbous rises later each evening and remains visible well into the early morning hours, gradually losing light on its right side.
Cycle position: 75%
Also known as the Third Quarter, the Moon is again half-illuminated, but on the opposite side from the First Quarter. It rises around midnight and sets around noon, visible mostly in the early morning sky.
Cycle position: 88%
The final phase before the next New Moon. Only a thin crescent of light remains visible on the left side. This phase is best seen low in the eastern sky just before dawn, signaling the close of the lunar cycle.
The lunar cycle — also called a lunation — averages 29.53 days from one New Moon to the next. This period is known as the synodic month, and it is longer than the Moon's actual orbital period around Earth (27.32 days, the sidereal month) because Earth itself is moving along its orbit around the Sun during that time.
Each of the eight canonical phases corresponds to a specific geometric arrangement of the Sun–Earth–Moon system. When the Moon sits between Earth and the Sun, its illuminated hemisphere faces away from us, producing the New Moon (🌑). Roughly seven days later, the Moon has moved a quarter of the way around its orbit, and we see half of its illuminated face — the First Quarter (🌓). At the halfway point, Earth sits between the Sun and Moon, and the full visible disk is lit: the Full Moon (🌕). The cycle then reverses through the waning phases until the next New Moon.
Knowing the current phase of the moon emoji is more than a curiosity — it is useful for photographers planning moonlit landscapes, fishermen tracking feeding patterns, gardeners who follow biodynamic calendars, and anyone who simply enjoys looking up. Our calculator uses the well-established J2000 reference new moon (6 January 2000, 18:14 UTC) and computes the exact phase for any moment in your browser, with no external API call required.
Head back to the home page to see today's moon phase rendered live as a single emoji, updated every minute.
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