Moon Phase for Monday May 15th, 2023
The current moon phase for May 15th, 2023 is the Waning Crescent phase.
On this day, the moon is 25.04 days old and 22.63% illuminated with a tilt of -72.581°. The approximate distance from Earth to the moon is 373,399.42 km and the moon sign is Pisces.
The Moon phase for May 15th, 2023 is a Waning Crescent phase. This is the phase where the moon is less than 50% illuminated but has not yet reached 0% illumination [which would be a New Moon].
In this part of the moon cycle, it is getting closer and closer to the Sun as viewed from Earth and the night side of the Moon is facing earth with a decreasingly thin crescent being illuminated.
The waning [shrinking] crescement Moon will rise at around midnight, transit the meridian after sunrise, before setting after noon. This phase is best viewed 1-2 hours before sunrise and is a great time to see the features of the Moon's surface. Along the illuminated crescent you can see the craters and mountains of the moon casting long shadows.
The Waxing Gibbous phase, like all moon phases, will last for just over 7 days. The actual length will vary because of the elliptical shaped orbit of the moon. During this Waxing Gibbous phase the moon will rise in the east in the mid- to late-afternoon and will be high in the eastern sky at sunset.
Assuming it's a clear night, the Waxing Gibbous moon will then be visible through most of the night before setting just before sunrise.
Fun fact: the illuminated side of a waning crescent moon is always pointed eastwards, towards the sunrise.
Moon Phase Details - May 15th, 2023
Phase: Waning Crescent
Moon age: 25.04 days
Moon illumination: 22.63%
Moon tilt: -72.581°
Moon angle: 0.53
Moon distance: 373,399.42 km
Moon sign: Pisces
Moon Phase Calendar
Want to view the moon phase for a specific date? Use the handy calendar below to find any date you like and see what the current phase of the moon was for that date.
Upcoming Moon Phases
Below are the upcoming moon phase dates and times. For more information on each of the phases, you can click the link to find out more.
Moon Phase for Friday May 5th, 2023
The current moon phase for May 5th, 2023 is the Full Moon phase.
On this day, the moon is 14.66 days old and 99.07% illuminated with a tilt of 153.032°. The approximate distance from Earth to the moon is 384,128.27 km and the moon sign is Scorpio.
The Moon phase for May 5th, 2023 is the Full Moon phase. In this phase, the moon is 100% illuminated when seen from Earth [hence the name Full Moon].
The Full Moon happens when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. The sunlight fully illuminated the moon, and this is what we call being "full". The moon will be visible throughout the night sky as it rises at sunset in the east, transits the meridian at midnight, before setting at sunrise in the west.
The specific point at which the Full Moon occurs can be measured down to a fraction of a second. The time that passes between full moons is called the Synodic month and is 29.530587981 days long.
Fun fact: lunar eclipses can only happen within a few days of the Full Moon, but they don't happen for every Full Moon because the moon's orbit has a 5.1° tilt around the Earth compared to Earth's orbit around the Sun. Only when the intersection of these two orbits is pointing towards the centre of the Moon do we get a lunar eclipse.
Moon Phase Details - May 5th, 2023
Phase: Full Moon
Moon age: 14.66 days
Moon illumination: 99.07%
Moon tilt: 153.032°
Moon angle: 0.52
Moon distance: 384,128.27 km
Moon sign: Scorpio
Moon Phase Calendar
Want to view the moon phase for a specific date? Use the handy calendar below to find any date you like and see what the current phase of the moon was for that date.
Upcoming Moon Phases
Below are the upcoming moon phase dates and times. For more information on each of the phases, you can click the link to find out more.
Pacific Time Zone
Prepared by Griffith Observatory using USNO MICA software and NASA/JPL Horizons Web Portal
21 July 2020
NEW MOON | FIRST QUARTER | FULL MOON | LAST QUARTER | |||||||||||||||
Jan | 6 | 15:08 | PST | Jan | 14 | 18:10 | PST | |||||||||||
Jan | 21 | 12:53 | PST | Jan | 28 | 7:19 | PST | Feb | 5 | 10:29 | PST | Feb | 13 | 8:01 | PST | |||
Feb | 19 | 23:06 | PST | Feb | 27 | 0:06 | PST | Mar | 7 | 4:40 | PST | Mar | 14 | 19:08 | PDT | |||
Mar | 21 | 10:23 | PDT | Mar | 28 | 19:32 | PDT | Apr | 5 | 21:34 | PDT | Apr | 13 | 2:11 | PDT | |||
Apr | 19 | 21:12 | PDT | Apr | 27 | 14:20 | PDT | May | 5 | 10:34 | PDT | May | 12 | 7:28 | PDT | |||
May | 19 | 8:53 | PDT | May | 27 | 8:22 | PDT | Jun | 3 | 20:42 | PDT | Jun | 10 | 12:31 | PDT | |||
Jun | 17 | 21:37 | PDT | Jun | 26 | 0:50 | PDT | Jul | 3 | 4:39 | PDT | Jul | 9 | 18:48 | PDT | |||
Jul | 17 | 11:32 | PDT | Jul | 25 | 15:07 | PDT | Aug | 1 | 11:32 | PDT | Aug | 8 | 3:28 | PDT | |||
Aug | 16 | 2:38 | PDT | Aug | 24 | 2:57 | PDT | Aug | 30 | 18:36 | PDT | Sep | 6 | 15:21 | PDT | |||
Sep | 14 | 18:40 | PDT | Sep | 22 | 12:32 | PDT | Sep | 29 | 2:57 | PDT | Oct | 6 | 6:48 | PDT | |||
Oct | 14 | 10:55 | PDT | Oct | 21 | 20:29 | PDT | Oct | 28 | 13:24 | PDT | Nov | 5 | 1:37 | PDT | |||
Nov | 13 | 1:27 | PST | Nov | 20 | 2:50 | PST | Nov | 27 | 1:16 | PST | Dec | 4 | 21:49 | PST | |||
Dec | 12 | 15:32 | PST | Dec | 19 | 10:39 | PST | Dec | 26 | 16:33 | PST |