What does tonights moon look like

The current moon phase for today is the First Quarter phase. On this day, the moon is 6. The approximate distance from Earth to the moon is , The Moon phase for today is the First Quarter phase. In this phase, exactly half of the moon is illuminated and half is in darkness. The First Quarter phase comes roughly 7 days after the New Moon and this is when the moon has completed one quarter of its orbit around the Earth hence the name, First Quarter.

The moon will be high overhead at sunset in this phase and will be visible until mid-night, when it sets in the west. The First Quarter of the moon phase cycle happens on one day.

At the beginning of this stage, we see a thin, crescent-shape Moon, which, in the Northern Hemisphere, appears on the right side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same thing happens, only on the left side. Some lunar and lunisolar calendars, such as the Islamic or Hijri calendar, define the start of a month as when the Moon first becomes visible, which is usually a day or so after the new Moon, during its waxing crescent stage.

In fact, both the first and last quarter phases are sometimes called a Half Moon. During a first quarter phase, the Moon is said to be at east quadrature, meaning that it is 90 degrees east of the Sun when viewed from Earth.

This phase occurs between the first quarter and full Moon and describes the Moon when it is more than half lit, but not yet fully. At the beginning of this stage in the Northern Hemisphere, we see the right half of the Moon illuminated plus a tiny fraction more extending into the left side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same happens, only from left to right. This phase is named as such because, from our perspective, the full disk is illuminated.

Learn more about lunar eclipses here! This phase occurs between the full and last quarter and describes the Moon when it is more than half lit, but not fully.

At the beginning of this stage in the Northern Hemisphere, we see a disk almost fully lit except for a tiny sliver on the right side that is in darkness. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same happens, only the light shrinks from left to right. This stage is sometimes also called Third Quarter. In the Northern Hemisphere, the left side is illuminated; in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the right side. During a last quarter phase, the Moon is said to be at west quadrature, meaning that it is 90 degrees west of the Sun when viewed from Earth.

This phase occurs between the last quarter and new Moon phases. Eventually, the entire disk will be in darkness, at which point it will be the new Moon phase and another lunar cycle will have begun. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same thing happens, only the lit area would have started on the right side and shrunk from left to right, until a thin crescent remained on the right. The First Quarter phase is a one-day event and in the following days enters a Waxing Gibbous phase becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon.

Visit the November Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. On November 11 the Moon is 7. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes The 8 Lunar Phases There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its