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🌙 Moon phases 3D

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Seen from Earth tonight

First quarter

Lit
50% of the disc
Age
7.4 of 29.5 days
Rises about
12:01
Best seen
evening
  • The Sun always lights exactly half of the Moon. Phases are how much of that lit half we can see from Earth.
  • At new moon the Moon is between Earth and Sun, so its lit side faces away. At full moon Earth is between, so we see the whole lit side.
  • Phases are not caused by Earth’s shadow — that only happens during a lunar eclipse.
  • A full cycle takes 29.5 days (synodic month), longer than the 27.3-day orbit, because Earth moves along its own orbit meanwhile.
  • We always see the same face: the Moon spins once per orbit (tidal locking). The far side is not dark — it gets just as much sunlight.