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Message to Humans
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The Moon and its rhythms

Lunar calendar

Choose a day and explore the changing Moon. Phases, illumination, full Moons and local moonrise times, together in one easy-to-read calendar.

YOUR LUNAR ATLAS

A month in moonlight

Choose a day, explore the details and save what matters.

Choose a city for moonrise and moonset times.

1900–2100

Adjust time zone

Use an IANA name, such as Europe/London. This does not change your selected city’s coordinates.

Calculating the lunar month…

TodaySelected dayMain phase

Select a day for details. Percentages show the illuminated part of the disk, normally at local noon.

Main events this month

Exact phase times in the selected time zone.

Eight faces of the Moon

A clear guide through the cycle, from slender crescent to full disk and back.

New Moon

The Moon is close to the Sun’s direction in the sky. Its illuminated side faces mostly away from us, leaving the disk almost invisible.

Look for dark skies for stargazing. The Moon itself is difficult to see near new Moon; never point optical equipment toward the Sun.

Waxing crescent

After new Moon, the illuminated part of the disk gradually grows. A slender crescent marks the early part of a new lunar cycle.

Try finding the crescent after sunset. You may see earthshine on the dark part of the disk: sunlight reflected from Earth.

First quarter

The Moon has completed roughly a quarter of its cycle since new Moon. About half of the visible disk is illuminated.

A good time to explore the boundary between light and shadow, where long shadows highlight craters and mountains. Check local moonset to plan your viewing time.

Waxing gibbous

More than half the disk is illuminated, and that fraction is still growing. The Moon is approaching its full phase.

Compare the Moon on consecutive evenings: the boundary between light and shadow shifts noticeably, revealing new surface details.

Full Moon

The Moon is roughly opposite the Sun in the sky. Its visible disk is almost entirely illuminated; the exact full Moon time is listed separately.

Observe the broad pattern of bright and dark regions. When photographing the Moon, reduce exposure: automatic night mode often overexposes the disk.

Waning gibbous

Full Moon has passed. More than half the disk is still illuminated, but the visible sunlit part is gradually shrinking.

The Moon becomes prominent later in the night. Check local moonrise and compare the illuminated areas with those you saw before full Moon.

Last quarter

The cycle is roughly three-quarters complete. About half the disk is illuminated again, but the Moon is now waning.

The Moon is often well placed for observing in the second half of the night and in the morning. Surface relief stands out along the light-shadow boundary.

Waning crescent

A thin illuminated crescent remains before the next new Moon. The current lunar cycle is coming to an end.

Look for the crescent before dawn if it is above the horizon. Observation becomes harder as the Sun approaches; never point optical equipment at the Sun.

How the data is calculated

Moon phases and positions are calculated with Astronomy Engine. Moonrise and moonset assume an unobstructed horizon near sea level. Times are rounded to the minute; actual visibility depends on the atmosphere and terrain.

Your guide to the lunar month

This lunar calendar shows how the illuminated part of the Moon visible from Earth changes, and helps you find the main phase events. Open any month from 1900 to 2100, choose a day and explore its details. A city is needed for local moonrise and moonset times. The phase calendar works without one: event times are displayed in your selected time zone. The tool is free, with no registration.

How to use the calendar

  1. Choose a month using the arrows or enter a date as digits, such as 07102026 for 7 October 2026. “Today” returns to the current day.
  2. Search for a city and select it from the results. The calendar will use its coordinates and local time zone.
  3. Select a day to see its phase, illumination, Moon age, and moonrise and moonset times alongside the calendar.
  4. Select an event below the calendar to jump to a new Moon, quarter or full Moon.
  5. Save the day card as PNG, or import the selected month’s main phases into your calendar with an ICS file.

Why the Moon changes shape

The Sun illuminates approximately half of the Moon’s globe. As the Moon travels around Earth, we see different amounts of this sunlit half. This creates the familiar crescent, half circle and full disk. The normal sequence of phases is not caused by Earth’s shadow; that shadow is involved in a lunar eclipse.

The calendar uses eight familiar phase names. Between the main events, the Moon changes continuously, so a phase name is a useful guide rather than a precise measurement. The illumination percentage provides more detail. The disk is a schematic illustration: it shows the illuminated fraction, not the Moon’s exact tilt above your local horizon.

The four main phase events

New Moon, first quarter, full Moon and last quarter are specific moments defined by the relative positions of the Sun and Moon. Each event has a date and time, not just a day on the calendar. It occurs at the same moment worldwide, but local clock times and even calendar dates can differ between time zones.

At first and last quarter, roughly half the visible disk is illuminated. “Quarter” refers to progress through the cycle, not the illuminated area we can see. A full cycle from one new Moon to the next lasts about 29.5 days on average; individual cycles vary in length.

Understanding the selected day’s values

Illumination is the fraction of the visible disk lit by the Sun. Moon age is the time elapsed since the previous new Moon, expressed in days. It is not a traditional lunar day number: those calendar systems may count days from moonrise and use other conventions.

The day card’s values are normally calculated for 12:00 noon on the selected local date. If a historical clock change skipped noon, the midpoint of that local day is used instead; the card shows the actual calculation time. Main phase events have their own times and are not rounded to noon. Distance is measured from Earth’s center to the Moon’s center and varies because of the shape of the orbit. These values help you explore the lunar cycle and plan observations.

Why choose a city?

The Moon’s phase is almost the same for observers around Earth at a given moment, but moonrise and moonset depend on latitude, longitude and date. Selecting a city supplies coordinates and a time zone, including daylight-saving changes. Without a city, the calendar does not assume these local event times.

Some dates have no moonrise or no moonset. At high latitudes, the Moon can remain above or below the horizon all day. This is normal, not a calendar error. The calculation assumes an unobstructed horizon near sea level: mountains, buildings and atmospheric conditions may change the time you actually see the Moon rise or set.

Planning observations and saving your results

Crater relief stands out near the boundary between light and darkness, making first and last quarter interesting times to observe the surface. A full Moon shows a bright disk but less pronounced relief. Around new Moon, the night sky is generally less affected by moonlight; actual visibility also depends on weather and local lighting.

PNG saves the selected day’s card with the city, time zone and a QR code linking to the tool. The ICS file contains the selected month’s main phase events as absolute UTC times. After import, your calendar app displays them in its own time zone. A shared day link stores its settings after the # symbol; do not share it if you want to keep the selected city private.