It’s the Third Quarter phase of the lunar cycle tonight, which means we’ll see roughly half of the Moon’s surface lit up from Earth. It also means there’s still plenty of its surface illuminated to be able to spot some of the Moon’s craters and other surface features.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Saturday, Oct. 3, NASA’s Daily Moon Guide tracker tells us the Moon is in the Third Quarter phase, with 53% of its surface visible.
With just your naked eye, tonight you can see the Copernicus Crater, the Aristarchus Plateau, and the Mare Imbrium. If you have binoculars, you can also spot the Archimedes, Alphonsus and Gassendi Craters. Finally, if you have access to a telescope, you’ll see the Apollo 13 landing spot and the Schiller Crater.
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.
