New moon
The moon sits between Earth and the sun, with its dark side facing us. It rises and sets with the sun, so it is not visible at night.
Waxing crescent
A thin sliver grows night by night. Look low in the west just after sunset.
First quarter
Half the disc is lit. It rises around midday and is high in the south at sunset.
Waxing gibbous
More than half lit and growing. Bright in the evening sky and up for most of the night.
Full moon
The whole disc is lit. It rises around sunset and stays up all night.
Waning gibbous
Still more than half lit, now shrinking. It rises in the evening, later each night.
Last quarter
Half lit again, on the other side. It rises around midnight and is easiest to see in the morning.
Waning crescent
A thinning sliver low in the east before dawn, until the next new moon.
Waxing and waning
Waxing means the lit part is growing, from new moon to full moon. Waning means it is shrinking, from full moon back to new. In the Northern Hemisphere a waxing moon is lit on the right; in the Southern Hemisphere, on the left.
The phase, at a glance.
aluni keeps today's phase on your home screen, Lock Screen, and Apple Watch, so you know what the moon is doing before you look up.
