The Moon
Today the Moon is the constellation of
Leo,
at a distance of
The image below shows the actual appearance of today's Moon phase. Check out the list of prominent lunar features suitable for observations today.
View Moon Position in the Sky
Credits: this image is derived from original work by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
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.
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):
- Moon is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 37.85° above the horizon.
- 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.
Distance from Earth
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 May 27 | 04h 02m 07s | +24° 55’ 11” | -4.55 | 1,991.6” | Taurus |
| 2025 May 28 | 05h 08m 30s | +27° 23’ 58” | -5.40 | 1,977.5” | Taurus |
| 2025 May 29 | 06h 15m 34s | +27° 49’ 52” | -6.59 | 1,955.4” | Auriga |
| 2025 May 30 | 07h 20m 16s | +26° 16’ 55” | -7.57 | 1,927.7” | Gemini |
| 2025 May 31 | 08h 20m 29s | +23° 05’ 01” | -8.36 | 1,897.3” | Cancer |
| 2025 Jun 01 | 09h 15m 26s | +18° 40’ 49” | -9.00 | 1,866.9” | Cancer |
| 2025 Jun 02 | 10h 05m 37s | +13° 29’ 51” | -9.53 | 1,838.8” | Leo |
| 2025 Jun 03 | 10h 52m 05s | +07° 52’ 47” | -9.97 | 1,814.6” | Leo |
| 2025 Jun 04 | 11h 36m 03s | +02° 05’ 08” | -10.35 | 1,795.0” | Leo |
| 2025 Jun 05 | 12h 18m 46s | -03° 41’ 07” | -10.69 | 1,780.7” | Virgo |
| 2025 Jun 06 | 13h 01m 23s | -09° 16’ 05” | -11.01 | 1,771.5” | Virgo |
| 2025 Jun 07 | 13h 44m 56s | -14° 30’ 10” | -11.31 | 1,767.3” | Virgo |
| 2025 Jun 08 | 14h 30m 20s | -19° 13’ 08” | -11.60 | 1,767.5” | Libra |
| 2025 Jun 09 | 15h 18m 13s | -23° 13’ 24” | -11.89 | 1,771.6” | Libra |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- The Moon: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Today's Moon Phase: Current phase of the Moon and a high-resolution image of the Moon's present appearance.
- Next Full Moon: Precise date, time and visibility information of the next Full Moon.
- Next New Moon: Precise date, time and additional information about the next New Moon.
- Moon Calendar: Track the phases of the moon for each day.
- Where is The Moon?: Key information on locating The Moon in the sky.
- Distance from Earth: Find out how far The Moon is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is The Moon?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: The Moon's rise and set times from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: planetarium-style interactive visualization of The Moon's position in the sky.
- Ephemeris: 15 days The Moon's computed ephemeris.
- Physical Data. Detailed information about physical properties of The Moon, such as mass and geometric properties.