Moon phase
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Illumination: —
Skywatching Tools
Moon Planner
Plan an observing night around lunar phase, illumination, moonrise, moonset, and darkness. Timing data comes from the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Choose a night
Date + observing location
Coordinates are only used to calculate local Sun and Moon timing. You can keep them in this browser if you want.
Choose a location and date to calculate lunar conditions.
Deep-sky moonlight
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Calculate a night to see the moonlight context.
Moonrise
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Local browser time-zone offset is used.
Moonset
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Useful for planning darker windows.
Sunset
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End civil twilight
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Sunrise
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StarStation will summarize the likely moonlight tradeoff after calculation.
Upcoming primary phases
Plan around the lunar cycle.
New Moon
Nov 9
1:02 am CST
First Quarter
Nov 17
5:48 am CST
Full Moon
Nov 24
8:53 am CST
Last Quarter
Dec 1
12:08 am CST
New Moon
Dec 8
6:52 pm CST
First Quarter
Dec 16
11:42 pm CST
Full Moon
Dec 23
7:28 pm CST
Last Quarter
Dec 30
12:59 pm CST
Primary Moon-phase timing source: U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department.
Observing strategy
The Moon is not always the enemy.
Bright moonlight makes faint galaxies and nebulae harder to see, but the Moon itself, planets, double stars, and many bright clusters remain excellent targets. A moonlit night can still be a productive observing night if you choose the right targets.
New Moon
Dark-sky priority
Best lunar phase for faint galaxies, nebulae, low-surface-brightness targets, and meteor observing when weather cooperates.
Quarter phases
Excellent lunar detail
The terminator produces long shadows that emphasize craters, mountains, rilles, and other surface relief.
Full Moon
Bright-target night
Faint deep sky suffers, but planets, double stars, bright clusters, lunar rays, and many outreach targets remain available.
Complete the plan
Moonlight is only one part of tonight's conditions.
Use Tonight's Sky for current observing weather and Sun/Moon timing, then record the session afterward in the Observer Logbook.