What is today’s moon phase?
As of Saturday, April 18, the moon phase is waxing crescent. According to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide, 1% of the Moon will be illuminated tonight.
The moon is starting to shine again, but there is still too little light to see anything on its surface.
When is the next full moon?
The next full moon is estimated to occur on May 1, the first of two in May.
What are the moon phases?
NASA says the Moon takes about 29.5 days to revolve around the Earth, during which it goes through eight different phases. We always see the same side of the Moon, but as it moves in its orbit the amount of sunlight reflected off it changes, creating the familiar pattern of full, partial and crescent shapes. These changing patterns are called lunar phases, and there are eight in total:
New Moon – The Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it is invisible to the eye).
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Waxing Crescent – A small patch of light visible to the right (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – The right half of the Moon is illuminated. It looks like a half moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half burnt, but not full yet.
Full Moon – The entire face of the Moon is illuminated and completely visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon begins to lose light from the right. (Northern hemisphere)
Third quarter (or last quarter) – Another half moon, but now the left side is illuminated.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left before it gets dark again.
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