The Moon
The Moon is currently in the constellation of Taurus. The current Right Ascension of The Moon is 06h 20m 27s and the Declination is +23° 33’ 38” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of The Moon is -8.04 (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 above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South direction at an altitude of 62° above the horizon.
- 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 Crescent and its age is 25.59 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 385,650 kilometers, equivalent to 0.002578 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1.2864 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 1900 and January 2100 the closest approach of The Moon to Earth happens on Wed Jan 15 1930 at a distance of 0.00238236 Astronomical Units, or 356,396 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 -8.04.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Aug 08 | 00h 27m 05s | -02° 36’ 06” | -11.27 | 1,777.2” | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 09 | 01h 10m 31s | +02° 15’ 39” | -10.95 | 1,771.9” | Cetus |
| 2020 Aug 10 | 01h 54m 02s | +07° 01’ 15” | -10.62 | 1,771.5” | Pisces |
| 2020 Aug 11 | 02h 38m 27s | +11° 31’ 59” | -10.27 | 1,776.5” | Aries |
| 2020 Aug 12 | 03h 24m 39s | +15° 38’ 34” | -9.88 | 1,787.1” | Taurus |
| 2020 Aug 13 | 04h 13m 19s | +19° 10’ 26” | -9.44 | 1,803.1” | Taurus |
| 2020 Aug 14 | 05h 04m 59s | +21° 55’ 14” | -8.92 | 1,823.9” | Taurus |
| 2020 Aug 15 | 05h 59m 44s | +23° 39’ 25” | -8.31 | 1,848.5” | Taurus |
| 2020 Aug 16 | 06h 57m 05s | +24° 09’ 56” | -7.56 | 1,875.4” | Gemini |
| 2020 Aug 17 | 07h 56m 04s | +23° 17’ 15” | -6.65 | 1,902.5” | Gemini |
| 2020 Aug 18 | 08h 55m 23s | +20° 58’ 28” | -5.54 | 1,927.7” | Cancer |
| 2020 Aug 19 | 09h 53m 52s | +17° 19’ 21” | -4.44 | 1,948.6” | Leo |
| 2020 Aug 20 | 10h 50m 47s | +12° 33’ 41” | -5.36 | 1,963.2” | Leo |
| 2020 Aug 21 | 11h 46m 04s | +07° 01’ 03” | -6.60 | 1,970.5” | Virgo |