It’s the New Moon tomorrow, which means the Moon is almost completely hidden tonight and there’ll be barely any light to see in the sky.
What is today’s moon phase?
As of Monday, Oct. 20, the moon[1] phase is Waning Crescent. Tonight, only 1% will be lit up, according to NASA’s Daily Moon Observation[2].
With such a low percentage of visibility tonight, unsurprisingly, there’s nothing to see on the moon’s surface tonight.
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When is the next full moon?
The next full moon will be on Nov. 5.
What are moon phases?
According to NASA[3], moon phases are caused by the 29.5-day cycle of the moon’s orbit, which changes the angles between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. 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. This is how we get full moons, half moons, and moons that appear completely invisible. There are eight main moon phases, and they follow a repeating cycle.
The eight main moon phases are:
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New Moon – The moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
References
- ^ moon (mashable.com)
- ^ (opens in a new window) (moon.nasa.gov)
- ^ (opens in a new window) (science.nasa.gov)