The Moon
The Moon tonight is in Waxing Crescent phase in the constellation of
Scorpius,
at a distance of
This image accurately depicts the Moon's current appearance, highlighting the key features near its terminator:
View Moon Position in the Sky
Credits: this image is derived from original work by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
View interactive star map
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and is the fifth-largest satellite in the solar system. It has a diameter of 3,474 kilometers and a mass of 7.34 x 10^22 kilograms, making it about 1/81st the mass of Earth. The Moon's surface is covered in craters, mountains, and plains, with the largest feature being the Imbrium Basin. The Moon has no atmosphere and no magnetic field, which means that it is exposed to the solar wind and cosmic rays. It has a day length of 29.5 Earth days, which is also the length of its orbital period around Earth. The Moon has been used as a celestial body for human exploration and scientific study. The first human landing on the Moon was in 1969 during NASA's Apollo 11 mission, and since then, several missions have been sent to study the Moon's geology, surface features, and potential for future human exploration and colonization.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
Today's rise,
transit and set times of
The Moon from
Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
Azimuth: 116.6°
Max altitude: 11.4°
Azimuth: 242.6°
- Moon is
below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple
customized Quick Access page,
so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Finder Charts
Sky map showing The Moon in Scorpius on October, 07 2024.
Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
Also check out Where is The Moon?,
a page that provides all the information needed to find The Moon in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Distance from Earth
- Moon is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Go to interactive sky chart
Finder Charts
The distance of The Moon from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of The Moon from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499, the closest approach of The Moon to Earth happens on Wed Jan 13 2275 at a distance of 0.002382 Astronomical Units, or 356,377 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of The Moon, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of The Moon. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 3474.2 km | 0.2727 |
| Mass | 0.07342 x 1024 kg | 0.0123 |
| Density | 3.344 gr/cm3 | 0.6065 |
| Escape Velocity | 2.38 km/s | 0.2127 |
| Sideral Rotation | 655.7199 hours | 27.3965 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -12.6 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.136 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of The Moon computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Sep 30 | 10h 41m 31s | +10° 39’ 29” | -6.72 | 1,774.5” | Leo |
| 2024 Oct 01 | 11h 24m 22s | +05° 08’ 02” | -5.77 | 1,767.6” | Leo |
| 2024 Oct 02 | 12h 06m 07s | -00° 32’ 07” | -4.69 | 1,763.8” | Virgo |
| 2024 Oct 03 | 12h 47m 43s | -06° 10’ 20” | -4.01 | 1,762.8” | Virgo |
| 2024 Oct 04 | 13h 30m 04s | -11° 36’ 17” | -5.18 | 1,764.8” | Virgo |
| 2024 Oct 05 | 14h 14m 01s | -16° 39’ 11” | -6.21 | 1,769.6” | Virgo |
| 2024 Oct 06 | 15h 00m 21s | -21° 07’ 22” | -7.10 | 1,777.7” | Libra |
| 2024 Oct 07 | 15h 49m 35s | -24° 47’ 57” | -7.88 | 1,789.3” | Libra |
| 2024 Oct 08 | 16h 41m 58s | -27° 27’ 17” | -8.57 | 1,804.7” | Scorpius |
| 2024 Oct 09 | 17h 37m 10s | -28° 51’ 59” | -9.18 | 1,824.1” | Ophiucus |
| 2024 Oct 10 | 18h 34m 21s | -28° 51’ 05” | -9.73 | 1,847.4” | Sagittarius |
| 2024 Oct 11 | 19h 32m 13s | -27° 18’ 21” | -10.24 | 1,874.1” | Sagittarius |
| 2024 Oct 12 | 20h 29m 29s | -24° 14’ 00” | -10.70 | 1,903.3” | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 13 | 21h 25m 24s | -19° 44’ 53” | -11.13 | 1,933.1” | Capricornus |
Additional Resources
- Current Phase of the Moon
- Moon Calendar: track the phases of the moon for each day
- Position and finder charts (see also Where is The Moon?)
- Distance from Earth (see also How far is The Moon from Earth?)
- When does The Moon rise and set?
- Brightness (see also How bright is The Moon?)
- Physical data. Detailed information about physical properties of The Moon, such as mass and geometric properties.
- 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of The Moon for the past and next 7 days.
- Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate The Moon in the sky from your location.