23 February to 1 March 2025 Current Moon Phase for the Southern Hemisphere

The Moon phase for today 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.

The Moon phase for February 25th, 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.

The Moon phase for February 26th, 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.

The Moon phase for February 27th, 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.

The Moon phase for February 28th, 2025 is the New Moon phase. In this phase, the moon is positioned between the Sun and Earth and is 0% illuminated (i.e the moon is not visible to us in the sky).

Due to the alignment of the Sun, the Moon and Earth, the side of the moon that faces Earth is left in complete darkness. In technical terms this is referred to as a conjunction or Syzygy.

Also, during the New Moon phase, the moon rises and sets at around the same time as the Sun. This brings to the moon too close to the glare of the Sun for us to see the moon with the naked eye.

Fun fact: The moon can’t emit its own light, it can only reflect the light from the Sun’s rays. Since there is no sunlight during the New Moon phase there is nothing to reflect, so the moon becomes completely dark and unable to be seen in the sky.

The Moon phase for March 1st, 2025 is a Waxing Crescent phase. This is the phase where the moon started to become visible again after the New Moon.

In this part of the moon cycle, the Moon is moving away from the Sun and is becoming more and more illuminated by sunlight. In this phase, the moon will go from 0.1% to 49.9% illuminated before reaching the First Quarter phase.

In the Waxing Crescent phase the moon rises before noon in the east, transits the meridian before sunset, before setting in the west before midnight.

The Waxing Crescent 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. The moon is close to the Sun in the sky and the right edge will become brighter as it approaches 50% illumination and the First Quarter phase

Fun fact: although only a small part of the Moon is illuminated in the Waxing Crescent phase, you can still sometimes see the rest of moon as faintly visible. This is known as “earthshine” or Da Vinci glow and is a result of sunlight being reflected off the Earth and back to the Moon.