Major Bodies»
Above the horizon.Rise:2:33|Tran:11:09|Set:19:25
Alt: 20.49°Az: 277.91°Direction: West
The Moon tonight is in Waning Crescent phase in the constellation of Cancer,at a distance of
This image accurately depicts the Moon's current appearance, highlighting the key features near its terminator:
Phase: Waning CrescentAge: 26.71 days
View Moon Position in the Sky
Credits: this image is derived from original work by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Map showing The Moon in Cancer on August, 31 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and is the fifth-largest satellite in the solar system. It has a diameter of 3,474 kilometers and a mass of 7.34 x 10^22 kilograms, making it about 1/81st the mass of Earth. The Moon's surface is covered in craters, mountains, and plains, with the largest feature being the Imbrium Basin. The Moon has no atmosphere and no magnetic field, which means that it is exposed to the solar wind and cosmic rays. It has a day length of 29.5 Earth days, which is also the length of its orbital period around Earth. The Moon has been used as a celestial body for human exploration and scientific study. The first human landing on the Moon was in 1969 during NASA's Apollo 11 mission, and since then, several missions have been sent to study the Moon's geology, surface features, and potential for future human exploration and colonization.
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.
Chart of the distance of The Moon from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth.
Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499,the closest approach ofThe Moon to Earth happens on Wed Jan 13 2275 at a distance of 0.002382 Astronomical Units, or356,377 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computedwith a sampling interval of 1 day.
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 inaccuraciesfor objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepanciesbetween the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Chart of the magnitude of The Moon as a function of time
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Aug 24 | 01h 49m 08s | +12° 28’ 44” | -11.23 | 1,958.0” | Aries |
| 2024 Aug 25 | 02h 43m 11s | +18° 12’ 34” | -10.80 | 1,936.0” | Aries |
| 2024 Aug 26 | 03h 39m 14s | +22° 47’ 54” | -10.34 | 1,912.1” | Taurus |
| 2024 Aug 27 | 04h 37m 12s | +25° 59’ 05” | -9.83 | 1,887.9” | Taurus |
| 2024 Aug 28 | 05h 36m 15s | +27° 36’ 03” | -9.27 | 1,864.9” | Taurus |
| 2024 Aug 29 | 06h 34m 58s | +27° 36’ 05” | -8.63 | 1,843.9” | Auriga |
| 2024 Aug 30 | 07h 31m 48s | +26° 04’ 33” | -7.91 | 1,825.2” | Gemini |
| 2024 Aug 31 | 08h 25m 42s | +23° 13’ 21” | -7.09 | 1,809.0” | Cancer |
| 2024 Sep 01 | 09h 16m 13s | +19° 17’ 57” | -6.16 | 1,795.3” | Cancer |
| 2024 Sep 02 | 10h 03m 31s | +14° 34’ 31” | -5.10 | 1,783.9” | Leo |
| 2024 Sep 03 | 10h 48m 15s | +09° 18’ 16” | -4.02 | 1,774.9” | Leo |
| 2024 Sep 04 | 11h 31m 11s | +03° 42’ 40” | -4.85 | 1,768.4” | Leo |
| 2024 Sep 05 | 12h 13m 14s | -02° 00’ 21” | -5.90 | 1,764.7” | Virgo |
| 2024 Sep 06 | 12h 55m 19s | -07° 39’ 58” | -6.81 | 1,764.3” | Virgo |
Compute the position of The Moonfor any date and time between 1 January 1600and 30 December 2499and display the results on an interactive star map.
- Current Phase of the Moon
- Moon Calendar: track the phases of the moon for each day
- Position and finder charts (see also Where is The Moon?)
- Distance from Earth (see also How far is The Moon from Earth?)
- When does The Moon rise and set?
- Brightness (see also How bright is The Moon?)
- Physical data. Detailedinformation about physical properties of The Moon, such as mass and geometric properties.
- 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of The Moon for the past and next 7 days.
- Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate The Moonin the sky from your location.
