We’re now a few days past the Harvest Moon, this month’s Full Moon, so it’ll now begin to wane each night until we reach the New Moon. This process is called the lunar cycle, and takes around 29.5 days in total.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Tuesday, Sept. 29, NASA’s Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Waning Gibbous phase, with 92% of its surface visible.
While the Moon’s visibility is decreasing, there is still so much to see tonight, including the Mare Imbrium, Mare Serenitatis, and the Tycho Crater which can be spotted without the use of any visual aids. If you have binoculars, they’ll also help you see the Clavius Crater, the Alphonsus Crater, and the Alps Mountains. Finally, if you have access to a telescope, you’ll see the Apollo 11 and 17 landing spots, plus the Fra Mauro Highlands.
When is the next Full Moon?
The next Full Moon will take place on October 25 or 26, depending on your timezone.
What are Moon phases?
The Moon takes around 29.5 days to orbit Earth, and as it moves through this cycle, we see different amounts of its sunlit side from here. That’s what creates the Moon’s different phases, from a thin crescent through to a half Moon and, eventually, the Full Moon. Once it reaches the Full Moon, the cycle starts over again. NASA explains that the phase we see depends on the Moon’s position in relation to Earth and the Sun.
The eight phases are:
Mashable Light Speed
New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
