What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2025
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Today, June 27, 2025, the moon is 2 days old and is in the Waxing Crescent phase of its lunar cycle. It is 6% illuminated.
Moon phase
Date
First Quarter
June 2
Full Moon
June 11
Third/Last Quarter
June 18
New Moon
June 25
Moon phases reveal the passage of time in the night sky. Some nights when we look up at the moon, it is full and bright; sometimes it is just a sliver of silvery light. These changes in appearance are the phases of the moon. As the moon orbits Earth, it cycles through eight distinct phases.
The four primary phases of the moon (new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter) occur about a week apart, with the full moon its most dazzling stage.
While the moon has four primary phases each month, it is always changing. As you observe the moon during the month, watch as it grows from a new moon to a first quarter moon. As it grows, it is known as a waxing moon, and gradually increases from a waxing "crescent" (for its shape into the first quarter moon. As it continues to brighten, it takes on an oblong, or "gibbous," shape until it reaches the full moon stage. Then it will repeat the steps in reverse as it heads back to a new moon. You can see what today's moon phase is here with the embedded widget on this page, courtesy of In-The-Sky.org.
Top telescope pick!
Looking for a telescope for the moon? We recommend the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ as the best for basic astronomy in our best beginner's telescope guide.
The next moon phase milestone will be the First Quarter Moon on Wednesday, July 2 at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT).
The First Quarter Moon, also known as the first half moon of the month because the moon appears half-illuminated as seen from Earth, marks the time when the moon is a quarter of its way through its lunar cycle and journey around the Earth.
"People may casually call this a half moon, but remember, that's not really what you're witnessing in the sky," NASA wrote in a statement. "You're seeing just a slice of the entire moon ― half of the illuminated half."
The First Quarter moon rises around noon and sets at about midnight, according to NASA. That means it will appear high in the sky in the evening, making it an excellent time for lunar viewing, the agency added.
Here are the moon phases for 2025, according to NASA's SKYCAL. If you need equipment for viewing the moon, check out our guide to the best telescopes and the best telescopes for kids.
You can also check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well as how to photograph a lunar eclipse for major moon events. There's even a guide on how to photograph a solar eclipse.
If you're looking for imaging gear, our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography guides can help prepare you for the next lunar sight.
New Moon
First Quarter
Full Moon
Last Quarter
--
Jan. 6, 6:56 p.m.
Jan. 13, 5:27 p.m.
Jan. 21, 5:31 p.m.
Jan. 29, 7:36 a.m.
Feb. 5, 3:02 a.m.
Feb. 12, 8:53 a.m.
Feb. 20, 12:32 p.m.
Feb. 27, 7:45 p.m.
March 6, 11:32 a.m.
March 14, 2:55 a.m.
March 22, 7:29 a.m.
March 29, 6:58 a.m.
April 4, 10:14 p.m.
April 12, 8:22 p.m.
April, 20 9:35 p.m.
April 27, 3:31 p.m.
May 4, 9:52 a.m.
May 12, 12:56 p.m.
May 20, 7:56 a.m.
May 26, 11:02 p.m.
June 2, 11:41 p.m.
June 11, 3:44 a.m.
June 18, 3:19 p.m.
June 25, 6:31 a.m.
July 2, 3:30 p.m.
July 10, 4:37 p.m.
July 17, 8:38 p.m.
July 24, 3:11 p.m.
Aug. 1, 8:41 a.m.
Aug. 9, 3:55 a.m.
Aug. 16, 1:12 a.m.
Aug. 23, 2:06 a.m.
Aug. 31, 2:25 a.m.
Sept. 7, 2:09 p.m.
Sept. 14, 6:33 a.m.
Sept. 21, 3:54 p.m.
Sept. 29, 7:54 p.m.
Oct. 6, 11:48 p.m.
Oct. 13, 2:13 p.m.
Oct. 21, 8:25 a.m.
Oct. 29, 12:21 p.m.
Nov. 5, 8:19 a.m.
Nov. 12, 12:28 a.m.
Nov. 20, 1:47 a.m.
Nov. 28, 1:59 a.m.
Dec. 4, 6:14 p.m.
Dec. 11, 3:52 p.m.
Dec. 19, 8:43 p.m.
Dec. 27, 2:10 p.m.
--
--
Related stories:
— How to photograph the moon using a camera: techniques, kit, and settings
— How to observe the moon with a telescope
— What you can see in this month's night sky
— Best cameras for astrophotography
The moon, like Earth, is a sphere, and it is always half-illuminated by the sun. As the moon travels around Earth, we see more or less of the illuminated half. Moon phases describe how much of the moon's disk is illuminated from our perspective.
New moon: The moon is between Earth and the sun, and the side of the moon facing toward us receives no direct sunlight; it is lit only by dim sunlight reflected from Earth.
Waxing crescent: As the moon moves around Earth, the side we can see gradually becomes more illuminated by direct sunlight.
First quarter: The moon is 90 degrees away from the sun in the sky and is half-illuminated from our point of view. We call it "first quarter" because the moon has traveled about a quarter of the way around Earth since the new moon.
Floating 3D Moon Night Light Lamp | RRP $239.97 | Now: $139.97
If you know someone who can't get enough of the moon, then they'll be delighted with this floating 3D lamp from encalife. Using magnetic levitation technology, the realistic globe will project "moonlight" as it floats and spins in mid-air. Comes in three color modes and wireless LED charging.View Deal
Waxing gibbous: The area of illumination continues to increase. More than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight.
Full moon: The moon is 180 degrees away from the sun and is as close as it can be to being fully illuminated by the sun from our perspective. The sun, Earth and the moon are aligned, but because the moon's orbit is not exactly in the same plane as Earth's orbit around the sun, they rarely form a perfect line. When they do, we have a lunar eclipse as Earth's shadow crosses the moon's face.
Waning gibbous: More than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight, but the amount is decreasing.
Last quarter: The moon has moved another quarter of the way around Earth, to the third quarter position. The sun's light is now shining on the other half of the visible face of the moon.
Waning crescent: Less than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight, and the amount is decreasing.
Finally, the moon is back to its new moon starting position. Now, the moon is between Earth and the sun. Usually, the moon passes above or below the sun from our vantage point, but occasionally it passes right in front of the sun, and we get a solar eclipse.
We asked Italian amateur astronomer, astrophotographer, and author Giuseppe Donatiello some questions about the moon and its phases.
The phases of the moon are a consequence of its motion around Earth in relation to the geometry assumed with respect to the sun. To better understand how it works, let us, first of all, remember that the moon does not emit its own light but reflects that of the sun and partly that reflected by the Earth–phenomenon of ashen light.
Of the moon, we always see a hemisphere and a little more because its rotation is synchronous and blocked by the tide. This means that one lunar rotation on its axis corresponds to the time of revolution around Earth, equal to 29.5 days. On a daily basis, the moon appears to move eastward in the sky by 12°, and this determines different angles of its illumination by the sun. As it orbits Earth, the moon will show different illuminated parts based on the angle to the sun and hence the phases of a lunation. Although these lighting variations are gradual, traditionally, only four moments are identified, which are also useful for regulating the ancient calendars.
They are in order, New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter.
The substantial difference is in the illumination percentage of the side facing the Earth. 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 the basis of the lunisolar calendar. However, it was difficult to establish the exact moment of the new moon, therefore, many ancient civilizations started the lunar month with the appearance of the first crescent after sunset. However, this is a very simplified description since the lunar motion is actually very complex, and the perspective with which we see the near side constantly changes, getting to see almost 60% of the lunar surface thanks to the phenomenon called libration.
The production of the phases depends on the Earth-moon-sun geometry and on the revolution motion of the moon around the Earth. Moving towards the east, our satellite rises later every day, and this is the reason why we see it in different positions at the same time. Approximately every day the moon delays its rising (and setting) by about 50 minutes, and this explains why the waxing becomes better visible a few days after the new moon as the elongation from the sun increases and further and further eastward.
According to this reasoning, the maximum delay is at the new moon (24 hours) but also the minimum (0 hours) with the start of a new cycle.
Tides are periodic changes in sea level known since ancient times. The phenomenon was explained satisfactorily by Isaac Newton, attributing it to the gravitational attraction exerted by the moon and the sun. We can consider the gravitational attraction exerted by the other planets to be negligible, therefore the greatest effects on the Earth will be those produced by the sun and the moon. These three bodies attract each other, however, the greatest effect is in the Earth-moon interaction. Both the moon and the Earth undergo a deformation along the line joining them, however, it is the fluid masses of the oceans that undergo the most significant deformations with the formation of a swelling.
In addition to the swelling along the joining line, a diametrically opposite one on the other side of the Earth is formed due to the centrifugal force. The bulges move with the rotation of the moon around the Earth. An observer on the Earth's surface as the bulge approaches will see the sea level rise and then fall after it is exceeded. This observed phenomenon is called a tide. When the sea level is minimum, it is called low tide, while when it is maximum, it is a phase of high tide. The difference in height between the height of high tide and low tide is defined as a tidal range. The behavior of the tides is influenced by the orography and shape of the basins, size, and depth. Two to four tides can occur in one day. If there is one high and one low tide, we speak of diurnal tides, while if there are two high and two low tides, these are called semi-diurnal tides. During diurnal tides, the excursion is minimal, while for diurnal tides, the difference in level can also be considerable. It also depends on the height of the moon above the equator as a result of its inclined orbit. The sun also affects the tides, albeit less so than the moon, by attracting masses of water. The solar role is additive to the lunar one therefore, the respective geometry also influences the tides.
When the moon is New or Full, the tides are maximum because the attraction forces of the sun and the moon add up. When the moon is in the First or Last Quarter, forming a 90° angle with the sun and the Earth, the tides are minimal because the attractive forces of the sun and moon oppose each other. To predict the magnitude of the tide we will also consider the position of the sun.
NASA's SkyCal Events Calendar offers a comprehensive calendar of moon phases, lunar and solar eclipses and more for the entire calendar year. You can see more about the full moons of 2024, in Space.com's Full Moon Calendar. Our night sky guide has a list of events for skywatching this month.
SkyCal - SkyEvents Calendar, NASA Goddard Spaceflight Centerhttps://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html
What's Up - Skywatching Tips from NASAhttps://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Nozzle blows off rocket booster during test for NASA's Artemis program (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An upgraded version of one of the solid rocket boosters being used for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) experienced an anomaly during a test June 26. The Demonstration Motor-1 (DM-1) Static Test took place at Northrop Grumman's facility in Promontory, Utah, simulating a launch-duration burn lasting about two minutes. It was the first demonstration of Grumman's Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) upgrade, an enhanced five-segmented motor designed with greater lifting power for later versions of SLS. Shortly after the spokesperson on Grumman's recording marks T+100 seconds into the test, an outburst of flames can be seen erupting form the top of the engine nozzle. A few seconds later, as another spokesperson announces, "activate aft deluge," an even larger burst comes from the rocket's exhaust, blowing nearby debris into the flames and around the test site. "Whoa," one of the test operators said as burn continued, before audibly gasping. Beyond that in-the-moment reaction, though, the anomaly was not acknowledged during the remainder of the test, which seemed to conclude as planned. "While the motor appeared to perform well through the most harsh environments of the test, we observed an anomaly near the end of the two-plus minute burn. As a new design, and the largest segmented solid rocket booster ever built, this test provides us with valuable data to iterate our design for future developments," Jim Kalberer, Grumman's vice president of propulsion systems, said in a statement. SLS, NASA's rocket supporting the agency's Artemis program, was designed on the foundation of legacy systems used during the space shuttle era. SLS's core stage fuel tank is an augmented version of the one used to launch space shuttles, and the same RS-25 engines responsible for launching the space shuttles are launching to space again on SLS missions. The segments from the shuttle's solid rocket boosters are also flying again, too. Northrop Grumman supported Artemis 1, and will support Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 with shuttle-era hardware, before transitioning to newer hardware for Artemis 4 through Artemis 8. The company's BOLE engines aren't slated to be introduced for launch until Artemis 9, on the SLS Block 2. The upgraded BOLE engines include improved, newly-fabricated parts replacing those no longer in production, carbon fiber composite casings and updated propellant efficiencies that increase the booster's performance more than 10 percent compared to the solid rocket engines being used on earlier SLS launches. Thursday's DM-1 BOLE test included more than 700 points of data collection throughout the booster, which produced over 4 million pounds of thrust, according to Northrop Grumman. Whether the BOLE design will ever fly, however, is far from certain. NASA's proposed budget for 2026 calls for the cancelation of the SLS rocket following Artemis 3.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Northrop Grumman tests future Artemis booster, but suffers destructive ‘anomaly'
Northrop Grumman saw some fiery drama during a test of a more powerful version of the solid rocket booster that would be used if NASA's Artemis program ever gets to its ninth launch using the beleaguered Space Launch System rocket. During a Thursday live stream by NASA of a static fire of the 156-foot-long Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) solid rocket motor, the end nozzle blew apart, sending debris flying across the camera followed by a black plume of smoke rising up from Northrop's Promontory, Utah test site. 'Whoa,' said one of the test controllers during the stream, just after the 100-second mark of the hot fire. Laying on its side, the booster was burning through the same amount of fuel that it would as if used on a launch. Northrop Grumman officials addressed the nozzle's demise in a press release later Thursday. 'Today's test pushed the boundaries of large solid rocket motor design to meet rigorous performance requirements,' said Jim Kalberer, Northrop Grumman's vice president of propulsion systems. 'While the motor appeared to perform well through the most harsh environments of the test, we observed an anomaly near the end of the two-plus minute burn.' The test is for a booster that wouldn't fly until at least next decade, and only if NASA sticks with SLS as a rocket option for its Artemis missions. 'As a new design, and the largest segmented solid rocket booster ever built, this test provides us with valuable data to iterate our design for future developments,' Kalberer said. Under the current NASA plan, the first eight Artemis launches use an SLS rocket with boosters that produce 3.4 million pounds of thrust each. The pair, combined with the core stage, created 8.8 million pounds of thrust on the Artemis I launch in 2022, which still is the most powerful rocket to ever make it into orbit. The BOLE version would increase thrust to 4 million pounds each, which would push SLS to near 10 million pounds of thrust on Artemis IX. The Trump administration's proposed budget for NASA, though, wants to kill off the use of the SLS rocket after Artemis III, although Congress is the ultimate decision-maker on what gets funded. So until directed otherwise, contractors continue to work on future versions of the SLS. Northrop Grumman's solid rocket boosters for Artemis are enhanced versions of similar boosters used during the Space Shuttle Program. The BOLE design is a solution to components no longer in production. The update uses a carbon fiber composite case and a different propellant formula among other features. The goal is a 10% increase in booster performance over the boosters used on Artemis I. That would equate to SLS being able to carry another 11,000 pounds of payload to lunar orbit. The nozzle issue was reminiscent of another Northrop Grumman booster problem seen in 2024. SpaceX Crew Dragon with 4 Axiom Space astronauts docks with space station Kennedy Space Center goes retro for Y2K after-hours event SpaceX launches historic mission to space station on new Crew Dragon dubbed 'Grace' Space Coast launch schedule With SLS rocket future uncertain, L3Harris still cranking out engines That's when a nozzle flew off of one of the boosters used on the United Launch Alliance Vulcan Certification-2 mission from Cape Canaveral. That incident contributed to a delay in the Space Force giving ULA the OK to fly national security missions. Northrop Grumman officials, though, said the ULA and Artemis boosters are not directly related. 'It is an entirely separate product,' said Mark Pond, senior director of NASA programs for Northrop Grumman's propulsion systems during an Artemis II media day last December at Kennedy Space Center. Artemis II is slated to launch no later than April 2026 on what would be the first crewed mission sending four astronauts on a trip around the moon, but not landing on it. 'From a concern standpoint, we've met all of our requirements, we've done all of our testing, we've met all of our acceptance tests and our delivery requirements, and for that reason, we are not concerned from an Artemis II perspective,' he said.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
In the Quest to Shrink NASA, Trump Forgets National Security
On a crisp evening in December 2023, I received an urgent alert: a swarm of unidentified drones had been detected above Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, inside highly restricted airspace. As NASA administrator at the time, I was immediately concerned. Langley is one of the most sensitive sites in the United States — home to F-22 Raptors, supersonic stealth fighters with highly classified capabilities and NORAD operations. It also happens to neighbor NASA's Langley Research Center, where our experimental technology had spotted the drones. Isolated drone sightings around military bases weren't unheard-of, but nothing like this swarm had ever happened before. I called senior Pentagon officials twice and raised the issue with staff at the National Security Council. I noted it was NASA technology that was able to see the drones, and based on our observations, this activity wasn't random: It's plausible the drones launched from a ship or submarine lurking as little as three miles offshore in international waters, or perhaps from trucks or trailers concealed in nearby woodlands. The incursion by the drones lasted 17 days. To my knowledge, we still do not know their origin or purpose, or how much of a threat they posed. But it was thanks to NASA technology that they were even picked up in the first place. The Air Force base did not have that capability. If a drone incursion could do something like this at Langley, what would stop a determined adversary from launching a flock of spacecraft-downing drones at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station? Or Vandenberg Space Force Base in California? Or Wallops Island off Virginia? These aren't just sites for launching rockets into space and delivering NASA payloads into orbit — they're strategic targets vital to the defense of our homeland. The events at Langley underscore how although NASA is a civilian agency for space exploration, its role stretches beyond that. Its study of the environment of space makes it possible for the United States to launch and operate satellites vital for spotting unusual things that NASA calls 'anomalies' and allowing communications across the globe. Its technological advancements have made it possible to develop state-of-the-art rockets and aircraft that few other countries can match. Winning the race to the moon bolstered national prestige and geopolitical dominance that helped the United States win the Cold War. NASA's fleet of Earth observation satellites gives vulnerable communities the information they need to plan for an uncertain future under climate change. And its scientific research into the furthest reaches of the solar system and beyond opens our eyes to the awesome nature of the universe, reminding us of our shared humanity. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
