The Moon
The Moon is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension of The Moon is 18h 11m 11s and the Declination is -25° 06’ 58” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of The Moon is -9.03 (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 Waxing Crescent and its age is 5.23 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 373,271 kilometers, equivalent to 0.002495 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1.2451 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 0.002382 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 -9.03.
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 Oct 14 | 10h 58m 18s | +11° 58’ 41” | -7.66 | 1,962.5” | Leo |
| 2020 Oct 15 | 11h 53m 27s | +06° 13’ 19” | -6.64 | 1,986.5” | Virgo |
| 2020 Oct 16 | 12h 48m 33s | -00° 01’ 09” | -5.39 | 2,002.4” | Virgo |
| 2020 Oct 17 | 13h 44m 16s | -06° 20’ 00” | -4.59 | 2,007.8” | Virgo |
| 2020 Oct 18 | 14h 41m 17s | -12° 16’ 18” | -5.85 | 2,002.1” | Libra |
| 2020 Oct 19 | 15h 40m 01s | -17° 23’ 35” | -7.04 | 1,986.2” | Libra |
| 2020 Oct 20 | 16h 40m 23s | -21° 19’ 14” | -8.00 | 1,962.3” | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Oct 21 | 17h 41m 35s | -23° 47’ 48” | -8.76 | 1,933.5” | Ophiucus |
| 2020 Oct 22 | 18h 42m 24s | -24° 43’ 21” | -9.38 | 1,902.8” | Sagittarius |
| 2020 Oct 23 | 19h 41m 21s | -24° 09’ 25” | -9.88 | 1,872.7” | Sagittarius |
| 2020 Oct 24 | 20h 37m 27s | -22° 16’ 59” | -10.31 | 1,845.2” | Capricornus |
| 2020 Oct 25 | 21h 30m 09s | -19° 20’ 36” | -10.67 | 1,821.4” | Capricornus |
| 2020 Oct 26 | 22h 19m 36s | -15° 35’ 25” | -11.00 | 1,801.8” | Aquarius |
| 2020 Oct 27 | 23h 06m 20s | -11° 15’ 15” | -11.30 | 1,786.5” | Aquarius |