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References > Science & Astronomy

What is the moon phase

today? Lunar phases 2023
By Tariq Malik Contributions from Daisy Dobrijevic
last updated about 1 hour ago

See what moon phase it is tonight

and 0nd out when you can see the
rest of the moon phases for 2023.

 
 Comments (0)

See what moon phase it is tonight and Dnd out when you can see
the rest of the moon phases for 2023. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-
Caltech)

Jump to: Moon phase tonight Next moon phase

What is the moon phase

today?
Today, Nov. 27, 2023, the moon is 14 days
old and is in the Full Moon phase of its lunar
cycle. It is 99% illuminated.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

November 2023 moon phases

dates
Moon phase Date

Third Quarter Nov. 5

New Moon Nov. 13

First Quarter Nov. 20

Full Moon Nov. 27

Moon phases reveal the passage of time in

the night sky. Some nights when we look up
at the moon, it is full and bright; sometimes
it is just a sliver of silvery light. These
changes in appearance are the phases of the
moon. As the moon orbits Earth, it cycles
through eight distinct phases.

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The four primary phases of the moon (new

moon, Drst quarter, full moon, last quarter)
occur about a week apart, with the full moon
its most dazzling stage.

Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and

joined the team in 2001. He covers
skywatching, human space]ight, exploration
as well as space science and entertainment,
and enjoys observing the moon through a
tabletop Celestron telescope when the
weather is clear.

WHAT'S THE MOON PHASE TONIGHT?

While the moon

Mon, Nov 27, 2023 has four primary
phases each
month, it is
always
changing. As
you observe the
Full Moon moon during
the month,
99%
watch as it
14 days old
grows from a
Provided by In-The-Sky.org new moon to a
Drst quarter
moon. As it
grows, it is known as a waxing moon, and
gradually increases from a waxing "crescent"
(for its shape into the Drst quarter moon. As
it continues to brighten, it takes on an
oblong, or "gibbous," shape until it reaches
the full moon stage. Then it will repeat the
steps in reverse as it heads back to a new
moon. You can see what today's moon
phase is here with the embedded widget on
this page, courtesy of In-The-Sky.org.

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WHAT IS THE NEXT MOON PHASE?

A full moon rises over the Washington Monument in Washington,

D.C. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls )

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After the Full Moon on Nov. 27, the next

moon phase milestone will be the "last
quarter moon," which is also known as the
third quarter moon. It will occur on Tuesday,
Dec. 5 at 12:49 a.m. EST (0549 GMT).

During the last quarter moon, only the left

half of the moon will appear illuminated, as
seen from Earth. What we'll see is only half
of the half of the moon (a quarter) that will
be illuminated in this phase.

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According to NASA, the last quarter moon

usually rises around midnight and sets
around noon, local time.

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MOON PHASE CALENDAR FOR 2023

Here are the moon phases for 2023,

according to NASA's SKYCAL. If you need
equipment for viewing the moon, check out
our guide to the best telescopes and the
best telescopes for kids.

You can also check out our guide on how to

photograph the moon, as well as how to
photograph a lunar eclipse for major moon
events. There's even a guide on how to
photograph a solar eclipse.

If you're looking for imaging gear, our best

cameras for astrophotography and best
lenses for astrophotography guides can help
prepare you for the next lunar sight.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Moon phases 2023 with times

New Moon First Quarter Full Moo

-- -- Jan. 6, 6

Jan. 21, 3:53 Jan. 28, 10:19

Feb. 5, 1
p.m. a.m.

Feb. 20, 2:06 Feb. 27, 3:06 March 7

a.m. a.m. am ET

March 21, 1:23 March 28, 10:32 April 6, 1

p.m. p.m. a.m.

April 20, 12:12 April 27, 5:20 May 5, 1

a.m. p.m. .

May 19, 11:53 May 27, 11:22 June 3, 1

a.m. a.m. p.m.

June 18, 12:37 June 26, 3:50

July 3, 7
a.m. a.m.

July 17, 2:32 July 25, 6:07 Aug. 1, 2

p.m. p.m. p.m.

Aug. 16, 5:38 Aug. 24, 5:57 Aug. 30,

a.m. a.m. p.m.

Sept. 14, 9:40 Sept. 22, 3:32 Sept. 29

p.m. p.m. a.m.

Oct. 14, 1:55 Oct. 21, 11:29 Oct. 28,

p.m. p.m. p.m.

Nov. 13, 4:27 Nov. 20, 5:50 Nov. 27,

a.m. a.m. a.m.

Dec. 12, 6:32 Dec. 19, 1:39 Dec. 26,

a.m. p.m. p.m.

PHASES OF THE MOON

The moon's phases leading up to and away from the Drst quarter
moon. (Image credit: NASA)

RELATED STORIES:

— How to photograph the moon using a
camera: techniques, kit, and settings
— How to observe the moon with a
telescope
— What you can see in this month's night sky
— Best cameras for astrophotography

The moon, like Earth, is a sphere, and it is

always half-illuminated by the sun. As the
moon travels around Earth, we see more or
less of the illuminated half. Moon phases
describe how much of the moon's disk is
illuminated from our perspective.

New moon: The moon is between Earth and

the sun, and the side of the moon facing
toward us receives no direct sunlight; it is lit
only by dim sunlight re]ected from Earth.

Waxing crescent: As the moon moves

around Earth, the side we can see gradually
becomes more illuminated by direct
sunlight.

First quarter: The moon is 90 degrees away

from the sun in the sky and is half-
illuminated from our point of view. We call it
"Drst quarter" because the moon has
traveled about a quarter of the way around
Earth since the new moon.

Waxing gibbous: The

area of illumination
continues to increase.
More than half of the
moon's face appears to See the moon phases, and

be getting sunlight. the diUerence between a

waxing and waning
crescent or gibbous moon,
Full moon: The moon
in this Space.com
is 180 degrees away infographic about the
from the sun and is as lunar cycle each month.
See the full
close as it can be to infographic.
being fully illuminated (Image credit: Karl Tate,
SPACE.com)
by the sun from our
perspective. The sun, Earth and the moon
are aligned, but because the moon’s orbit is
not exactly in the same plane as Earth’s orbit
around the sun, they rarely form a perfect
line. When they do, we have a lunar eclipse
as Earth's shadow crosses the moon's face.

Waning gibbous: More than half of the

moon's face appears to be getting sunlight,
but the amount is decreasing.

Last quarter: The moon has moved another

quarter of the way around Earth, to the third
quarter position. The sun's light is now
shining on the other half of the visible face
of the moon.

Waning crescent: Less than half of the

moon's face appears to be getting sunlight,
and the amount is decreasing.

Finally, the moon is back to its new moon

starting position. Now, the moon is between
Earth and the sun. Usually, the moon passes
above or below the sun from our vantage
point, but occasionally it passes right in front
of the sun, and we get a solar eclipse.

Click here for more Space.com videos...

PLAY SOUND

MOON PHASE Q&A WITH AN EXPERT

We asked Italian amateur astronomer,

astrophotographer, and author Giuseppe
Donatiello some questions about the moon
and its phases.

Giuseppe Donatiello

Amateur astronomer
Giuseppe Donatiello is an Italian amateur
astronomer, astrophotographer, and author
who is known for his discovery of six nearby
dwarf galaxies and several planetary
nebulas.

Why does the moon have

phases?
The phases of the moon are a consequence
of its motion around Earth in relation to the
geometry assumed with respect to the sun.
To better understand how it works, let us,
Drst of all, remember that the moon does
not emit its own light but re]ects that of the
sun and partly that re]ected by the Earth–
phenomenon of ashen light.

Of the moon, we always see a hemisphere

and a little more because its rotation is
synchronous and blocked by the tide. This
means that one lunar rotation on its axis
corresponds to the time of revolution
around Earth, equal to 29.5 days. On a daily
basis, the moon appears to move eastward
in the sky by 12°, and this determines
diUerent angles of its illumination by the
sun. As it orbits Earth, the moon will show
diUerent illuminated parts based on the
angle to the sun and hence the phases of a
lunation. Although these lighting variations
are gradual, traditionally, only four moments
are identiDed, which are also useful for
regulating the ancient calendars.

They are in order, New Moon, First Quarter,

Full Moon, and Last Quarter.

What is the diHerence

between Full Moon and
New Moon?
The substantial diUerence is in the
illumination percentage of the side facing
the Earth. In the new moon phase, this
percentage is 0% and becomes 100% at Full
moon, about 14 days later. Thanks to the
regular repetition of these moments, since
ancient times, the lunar phases have been
the basis of the lunisolar calendar.

However, it was dipcult to establish the

exact moment of the new moon, therefore,
many ancient civilizations started the lunar
month with the appearance of the Drst
crescent after sunset. However, this is a very
simpliDed description since the lunar motion
is actually very complex, and the perspective
with which we see the near side constantly
changes, getting to see almost 60% of the
lunar surface thanks to the phenomenon
called libration.

How do the phases of the

moon aHect moonrise and
moonset?
The production of the phases depends on
the Earth-moon-sun geometry and on the
revolution motion of the moon around the
Earth. Moving towards the east, our satellite
rises later every day, and this is the reason
why we see it in diUerent positions at the
same time. Approximately every day the
moon delays its rising (and setting) by about
50 minutes, and this explains why the
waxing becomes better visible a few days
after the new moon as the elongation from
the sun increases and further and further
eastward.

According to this reasoning, the maximum

delay is at the new moon (24 hours) but also
the minimum (0 hours) with the start of a
new cycle.

Do the phases of the moon

aHect the tides?
Tides are periodic changes in sea level
known since ancient times. The
phenomenon was explained satisfactorily by
Isaac Newton, attributing it to the
gravitational attraction exerted by the moon
and the sun. We can consider the
gravitational attraction exerted by the other
planets to be negligible, therefore the
greatest eUects on the Earth will be those
produced by the sun and the moon. These
three bodies attract each other, however,
the greatest eUect is in the Earth-moon
interaction.

Both the moon and the Earth undergo a

deformation along the line joining them,
however, it is the ]uid masses of the oceans
that undergo the most signiDcant
deformations with the formation of a
swelling.

In addition to the swelling along the joining

line, a diametrically opposite one on the
other side of the Earth is formed due to the
centrifugal force. The bulges move with the
rotation of the moon around the Earth. An
observer on the Earth's surface as the bulge
approaches will see the sea level rise and
then fall after it is exceeded. This observed
phenomenon is called a tide. When the sea
level is minimum, it is called low tide, while
when it is maximum, it is a phase of high
tide.

The diUerence in height between the height

of high tide and low tide is deDned as a tidal
range. The behavior of the tides is
in]uenced by the orography and shape of
the basins, size, and depth. Two to four tides
can occur in one day. If there is one high and
one low tide, we speak of diurnal tides, while
if there are two high and two low tides, these
are called semi-diurnal tides. During diurnal
tides, the excursion is minimal, while for
diurnal tides, the diUerence in level can also
be considerable. It also depends on the
height of the moon above the equator as a
result of its inclined orbit. The sun also
aUects the tides, albeit less so than the
moon, by attracting masses of water. The
solar role is additive to the lunar one
therefore, the respective geometry also
in]uences the tides.

When the moon is New or Full, the tides are

maximum because the attraction forces of
the sun and the moon add up. When the
moon is in the First or Last Quarter, forming
a 90° angle with the sun and the Earth, the
tides are minimal because the attractive
forces of the sun and moon oppose each
other. To predict the magnitude of the tide
we will also consider the position of the sun.

ADDITIONAL MOON PHASE RESOURCES

NASA's SkyCal Events Calendar oUers a

comprehensive calendar of moon phases,
lunar and solar eclipses and more for the
entire calendar year. You can see more
about the full moons of 2023, in Space.com's
Full Moon Calendar. Our night sky guide has
a list of events for skywatching this month.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SkyCal - SkyEvents Calendar, NASA Goddard

Space]ight Center
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL
.html

What's Up - Skywatching Tips from NASA

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/w
hats-up/

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