You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else was born.
Northern Hemisphere
December 9, 2023
The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waning Crescent phase. This phase is best viewed just before the sunrise in the western sky. In this phase the Moon’s illumination is growing smaller each day until the New Moon. During this part of the Moon cycle, the Moon is getting closer to the Sun as viewed from Earth and the night side of the Moon is facing the Earth with only a small edge of the Moon being illuminated. It can also be a great time to see the features of the Moon’s surface. Along the edge where the illuminated portion meets the dark side, the craters and mountains cast long shadows making them easier to observe with a telescope or binoculars.
Visit the December 2023 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.
Today’s Waning Crescent Phase
The Waning Crescent on December 9 has an illumination of 13%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On December 9 the Moon is 26.02 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.
Phase Details
Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 13%
Moon Age: 26.02 days
Moon Angle: 0.50
Moon Distance: 394,836.24 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,332,225.49 km
The 8 Lunar Phases
There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.
Southern Hemisphere
10 December 2023
The Moon’s current phase for today and tonight is a Waning Crescent phase. This phase is best viewed just before the sunrise in the western sky. In this phase the Moon’s illumination is growing smaller each day until the New Moon. During this part of the Moon cycle, the Moon is getting closer to the Sun as viewed from Earth and the night side of the Moon is facing the Earth with only a small edge of the Moon being illuminated. It can also be a great time to see the features of the Moon’s surface. Along the edge where the illuminated portion meets the dark side, the craters and mountains cast long shadows making them easier to observe with a telescope or binoculars.
Visit the December 2023 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.
Today’s Waning Crescent Phase
The Waning Crescent on December 10 has an illumination of 7%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On December 10 the Moon is 26.99 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.
Phase Details
Phase: Waning Crescent
Illumination: 7%
Moon Age: 26.99 days
Moon Angle: 0.51
Moon Distance: 390,436.04 km
Sun Angle: 0.54
Sun Distance: 147,314,094.05 km
Useful Moon Resources
Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com
For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society
The 8 Lunar Phases
There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.
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