The Moon phase for February 17th, 2025 is a Waning Gibbous phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon where the illumination of the moon decreases each day until it reaches 50% (the Last Quarter phase).

The waning (shrinking) gibbous Moon will rise after sunset in the east, transit the meridian after midnight, before setting after sunrise in the west.

During this phase, the illumination of the moon will go down from 99.% to 50.1%. Technically, the phase starts as soon as the Full Moon has passed, but it can be difficult to calculate and differentiate the first stage of a Waning Gibbous Moon from a Full Moon when 98-99% of the Moon’s surface is illuminated.

Fun fact: the word Gibbous was first used in the 14th century and comes from the latin word gibbosus which means humpbacked.

The Moon phase for February 19th, 2025 is a Waning Gibbous phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon where the illumination of the moon decreases each day until it reaches 50% (the Last Quarter phase).

The waning (shrinking) gibbous Moon will rise after sunset in the east, transit the meridian after midnight, before setting after sunrise in the west.

During this phase, the illumination of the moon will go down from 99.% to 50.1%. Technically, the phase starts as soon as the Full Moon has passed, but it can be difficult to calculate and differentiate the first stage of a Waning Gibbous Moon from a Full Moon when 98-99% of the Moon’s surface is illuminated.

Fun fact: the word Gibbous was first used in the 14th century and comes from the latin word gibbosus which means humpbacked.

The Moon phase for February 20th, 2025 is the Last Quarter phase, which is also sometimes known as the Third Quarter. In this phase, the moon has completed three quarters of it’s orbit around the earth and exactly half of the moon is illuminated and half is in darkness.

The Last Quarter phase comes roughly 3 weeks after the New Moon and this is when the moon has completed three quarters of its orbit around the Earth (hence the name, Last Quarter). The moon will rise around midnight on the eastern horizon, transits the meridian at sunrise, before setting at noon in the west.

The Last Quarter of the moon phase cycle happens on one day. It’s followed by the intermediate phase, Waning Crescent, and will become less illuminated every day until it reaches the New Moon phase.

Fun fact: if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the left side of the moon will be illuminated during the Last Quarter. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, the right side is illuminated.

he Moon phase for February 21st, 2025 is a Waning Gibbous phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon where the illumination of the moon decreases each day until it reaches 50% (the Last Quarter phase).

The waning (shrinking) gibbous Moon will rise after sunset in the east, transit the meridian after midnight, before setting after sunrise in the west.

During this phase, the illumination of the moon will go down from 99.% to 50.1%. Technically, the phase starts as soon as the Full Moon has passed, but it can be difficult to calculate and differentiate the first stage of a Waning Gibbous Moon from a Full Moon when 98-99% of the Moon’s surface is illuminated.

Fun fact: the word Gibbous was first used in the 14th century and comes from the latin word gibbosus which means humpbacked.

The Moon phase for February 22nd, 2025 is a Waning Crescent phase. This is the phase where the moon is less than 50% illuminated but has not yet reached 0% illumination (which would be a New Moon).

In this part of the moon cycle, it is getting closer and closer to the Sun as viewed from Earth and the night side of the Moon is facing earth with a decreasingly thin crescent being illuminated.

The waning (shrinking) crescement Moon will rise at around midnight, transit the meridian after sunrise, before setting after noon. This phase is best viewed 1-2 hours before sunrise and is a great time to see the features of the Moon’s surface. Along the illuminated crescent you can see the craters and mountains of the moon casting long shadows.

The Waxing Gibbous phase, like all moon phases, will last for just over 7 days. The actual length will vary because of the elliptical shaped orbit of the moon. During this Waxing Gibbous phase the moon will rise in the east in the mid- to late-afternoon and will be high in the eastern sky at sunset.

Assuming it’s a clear night, the Waxing Gibbous moon will then be visible through most of the night before setting just before sunrise.

Fun fact: the illuminated side of a waning crescent moon is always pointed eastwards, towards the sunrise.