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The Moon Ephemeris Calculator
Compute the position of The Moon for any date and time between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499 and display the results on an interactive star map.
In Evidence
The Moon
The Moon is currently in the constellation of Aquarius. The current Right Ascension of The Moon is 23h 14m 36s and the Declination is -09° 27’ 54” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of The Moon is -5.43 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of The Moon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- Moon is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- 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.
What is the Current Phase of the Moon?
Today the Moon is New Moon and its age is 28.43 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 363,686 kilometers, equivalent to 0.002431 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1.2131 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 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.
The Moon Brightness
The current visual magnitude of The Moon is -5.43.
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Mar 13 | 15h 31m 11s | -20° 58’ 50” | -11.02 | 1,875.0” | Libra |
| 2023 Mar 14 | 16h 27m 09s | -24° 41’ 57” | -10.66 | 1,894.7” | Ophiucus |
| 2023 Mar 15 | 17h 27m 06s | -27° 05’ 26” | -10.24 | 1,914.8” | Ophiucus |
| 2023 Mar 16 | 18h 30m 02s | -27° 50’ 34” | -9.74 | 1,934.5” | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Mar 17 | 19h 34m 05s | -26° 46’ 18” | -9.15 | 1,952.2” | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Mar 18 | 20h 37m 04s | -23° 53’ 38” | -8.42 | 1,966.1” | Capricornus |
| 2023 Mar 19 | 21h 37m 24s | -19° 25’ 54” | -7.53 | 1,974.3” | Capricornus |
| 2023 Mar 20 | 22h 34m 29s | -13° 45’ 30” | -6.45 | 1,975.3” | Aquarius |
| 2023 Mar 21 | 23h 28m 36s | -07° 19’ 05” | -5.15 | 1,968.2” | Aquarius |
| 2023 Mar 22 | 00h 20m 35s | -00° 33’ 29” | -4.48 | 1,953.2” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 23 | 01h 11m 29s | +06° 06’ 20” | -5.76 | 1,931.6” | Pisces |
| 2023 Mar 24 | 02h 02m 13s | +12° 18’ 39” | -6.86 | 1,905.4” | Aries |
| 2023 Mar 25 | 02h 53m 40s | +17° 45’ 11” | -7.75 | 1,877.3” | Aries |
| 2023 Mar 26 | 03h 46m 18s | +22° 11’ 11” | -8.47 | 1,849.5” | Taurus |