The Moon
The Moon is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension of The Moon is 17h 48m 31s and the Declination is -27° 07’ 35” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of The Moon is -12.02 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about The Moon [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- Moon is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- See also Moon rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about The Moon available on TheSkyLive:
What Phase is the Moon in?
Today the Moon is Waning Gibbous and its age is 17.31 days.
Current Moon Sky Map
The Moon Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide The Moon finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
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.
The Moon Distance from Earth
The distance of The Moon from Earth is currently 360,755 kilometers, equivalent to 0.002411 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1.2033 seconds to travel from The Moon and arrive to us.
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 of The Moon to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of The Moon to Earth happens on Sun Nov 26 2034 at a distance of 0.002383 Astronomical Units, or 356,452 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
The Moon brightness
The current visual magnitude of The Moon is -12.02.
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.
The Moon rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's The Moon rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of The Moon touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
The Moon 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 |
The Moon 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. Click on each row of the table to locate The Moon in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 May 11 | 11h 04m 54s | +11° 15’ 25” | -10.85 | 1,844.7” | Leo |
| 2022 May 12 | 11h 52m 27s | +05° 36’ 37” | -11.24 | 1,873.2” | Virgo |
| 2022 May 13 | 12h 40m 37s | -00° 28’ 11” | -11.62 | 1,903.1” | Virgo |
| 2022 May 14 | 13h 30m 32s | -06° 43’ 44” | -12.00 | 1,932.0” | Virgo |
| 2022 May 15 | 14h 23m 17s | -12° 50’ 09” | -12.38 | 1,957.3” | Libra |
| 2022 May 16 | 15h 19m 50s | -18° 22’ 35” | -12.76 | 1,976.4” | Libra |
| 2022 May 17 | 16h 20m 41s | -22° 52’ 14” | -12.53 | 1,987.0” | Scorpius |
| 2022 May 18 | 17h 25m 18s | -25° 50’ 58” | -12.17 | 1,988.4” | Ophiucus |
| 2022 May 19 | 18h 31m 51s | -26° 58’ 36” | -11.79 | 1,980.9” | Sagittarius |
| 2022 May 20 | 19h 37m 45s | -26° 09’ 56” | -11.39 | 1,966.0” | Sagittarius |
| 2022 May 21 | 20h 40m 31s | -23° 35’ 57” | -10.97 | 1,945.7” | Capricornus |
| 2022 May 22 | 21h 38m 51s | -19° 38’ 38” | -10.52 | 1,922.6” | Capricornus |
| 2022 May 23 | 22h 32m 40s | -14° 42’ 57” | -10.03 | 1,898.5” | Aquarius |
| 2022 May 24 | 23h 22m 44s | -09° 11’ 48” | -9.49 | 1,875.0” | Aquarius |