Moon phase today

What are the moon's phases?

The moon takes about 29.5 days to cycle through its phases, from new moon to full moon and back. The phase you see is how much of the moon's lit half faces Earth, which changes as the moon orbits us.

• New moon: the lit side faces away, so the moon is dark.
• Waxing crescent: a thin sliver on the right, growing.
• First quarter: the right half is lit.
• Waxing gibbous: more than half, still growing.
• Full moon: the whole face is lit.
• Waning gibbous: more than half, now shrinking.
• Last quarter: the left half is lit.
• Waning crescent: a thin sliver on the left, fading to new.

The lit side is on the right as the moon waxes and on the left as it wanes, for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere. South of the equator it is mirrored, which Gibbous can flip for you.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon and every phase after it are listed in the full moon calendar for 2026. Gibbous shows the next full and new moon as a countdown, in your own time zone, and can remind you before each one.