Moon Phase Calculator

The 8 moon phases

• 🌑 New Moon — completely dark; rises with the sun
• 🌒 Waxing Crescent — sliver visible on the right (Northern Hemisphere)
• 🌓 First Quarter — right half lit; rises ~noon
• 🌔 Waxing Gibbous — more than half but not full
• 🌕 Full Moon — fully lit; rises at sunset
• 🌖 Waning Gibbous — past full, shrinking
• 🌗 Last Quarter — left half lit; rises ~midnight
• 🌘 Waning Crescent — sliver on the left; rises before dawn

What the phases are useful for

• Astrophotography — new moon = darkest skies for deep-sky shots
• Landscape photo at night — full moon lights the scene without flash
• Fishing — many anglers track lunar phases
• Gardening — traditional planting calendars follow the moon