Today, July 26, 2025, the moon is 2 days old and is in the Waxing Crescent phase of its lunar cycle. It is 4% illuminated.

Each of these in-between phases lasts about 7 days and 9 hours. Altogether, the lunar cycle takes 29.5 days to complete. When you observe the moon in the sky, ask yourself which side is aglow.

Think of the phases labeled "new moon," "first quarter," "full moon," and "third quarter" as the numbers 12, 9, 6, and 3 on a clock, respectively. (For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the ...

A Guide to Each Lunar Phase and Their Meanings. While orbiting Earth, the moon undergoes a series of phases, each marked by its unique appearance in the sky. By Valerie Mesa.

Moon phases are how the moon looks from Earth as it goes around us. We always see the same side of the moon, but how much of it is lit up by the Sun changes depending on where it is in its orbit.

The moon will be almost exactly half illuminated by the sun on Sunday (Oct. 2), during a phase called the first quarter. This will also mark the closest the moon is to Earth during its first ...

Understand the moon phases and you can wager a pretty good guess for when the next full moon is just by looking up.

In the new moon phase, this percentage is 0% and becomes 100% at Full moon, about 14 days later. Thanks to the regular repetition of these moments, since ancient times, the lunar phases have been ...