The Moon

by Dominic Ford, Editor
Last updated: 24 Mar 2020

The Moon is a 6 day-old waxing crescent, and is approaching first quarter. From South El Monte, it will become visible at around 20:24 (PDT), 42° above your south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 00:12.

25 Jun 2025  –  New Moon
02 Jul 2025  –  Moon at First Quarter
10 Jul 2025  –  Full Moon
17 Jul 2025  –  Moon at Last Quarter
The Moon

The Moon at First Quarter. Simulated image courtesy of Tom Ruen.

The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite, orbiting it once every 27.3 days, at a distance of 380,000 km (0.00254 astronomical units).

It has almost exactly the same angular size as the Sun – roughly half a degree – a coincidence which means it can occasionally completely cover the Sun's disk to generate a total solar eclipse, but with so little margin that the geometry has to be absolutely exact.

The Moon is the only heavenly body on which surface features can be resolved by the unaided eye. Its mottled pattern of light and dark areas represent two distinct types of terrain. The dark areas are called maria – originally so named because they were thought to be oceans of water, but they are now known to be vast flat volcanic planes. Between the maria, the lighter colored terrain is considerably rougher and more mountainous – the lunar highlands.

To bring the Moon's heavily cratered surface into view, nothing more expensive than a cheap pair of binoculars is needed.

Dates of the Moon's phases

The table below lists the phases of the Moon in 2025, computed from NASA's DE430 planetary ephemeris. To show events in other years, use the control below.

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The Moons phases in 2025

Date Event Moon's declination
Date Event Moon's declination
06 Jan 2025 15:56 PSTMoon at First Quarter7°50'N
13 Jan 2025 14:26 PSTFull Moon25°53'N
21 Jan 2025 12:31 PSTMoon at Last Quarter14°40'S
29 Jan 2025 04:37 PSTNew Moon21°34'S
05 Feb 2025 00:02 PSTMoon at First Quarter20°27'N
12 Feb 2025 05:53 PSTFull Moon16°18'N
20 Feb 2025 09:33 PSTMoon at Last Quarter25°12'S
27 Feb 2025 16:45 PSTNew Moon9°33'S
06 Mar 2025 08:32 PSTMoon at First Quarter27°51'N
13 Mar 2025 23:54 PDTFull Moon2°50'N
22 Mar 2025 04:30 PDTMoon at Last Quarter28°41'S
29 Mar 2025 03:58 PDTNew Moon4°24'N
04 Apr 2025 19:15 PDTMoon at First Quarter27°32'N
12 Apr 2025 17:22 PDTFull Moon11°04'S
20 Apr 2025 18:36 PDTMoon at Last Quarter24°09'S
27 Apr 2025 12:32 PDTNew Moon17°11'N
04 May 2025 06:52 PDTMoon at First Quarter19°55'N
12 May 2025 09:55 PDTFull Moon22°18'S
20 May 2025 04:59 PDTMoon at Last Quarter13°43'S
26 May 2025 20:03 PDTNew Moon25°57'N
02 Jun 2025 20:41 PDTMoon at First Quarter7°46'N
11 Jun 2025 00:43 PDTFull Moon28°03'S
18 Jun 2025 12:19 PDTMoon at Last Quarter0°34'S
25 Jun 2025 03:32 PDTNew Moon28°16'N
02 Jul 2025 12:30 PDTMoon at First Quarter5°53'S
10 Jul 2025 13:36 PDTFull Moon26°33'S
17 Jul 2025 17:38 PDTMoon at Last Quarter12°35'N
24 Jul 2025 12:12 PDTNew Moon23°25'N
01 Aug 2025 05:41 PDTMoon at First Quarter18°20'S
09 Aug 2025 00:54 PDTFull Moon18°26'S
15 Aug 2025 22:12 PDTMoon at Last Quarter23°10'N
22 Aug 2025 23:07 PDTNew Moon12°58'N
30 Aug 2025 23:25 PDTMoon at First Quarter26°43'S
07 Sep 2025 11:08 PDTFull Moon6°09'S
14 Sep 2025 03:33 PDTMoon at Last Quarter28°25'N
21 Sep 2025 12:55 PDTNew Moon0°23'S
29 Sep 2025 16:54 PDTMoon at First Quarter28°13'S
06 Oct 2025 20:47 PDTFull Moon7°32'N
13 Oct 2025 11:13 PDTMoon at Last Quarter26°14'N
21 Oct 2025 05:26 PDTNew Moon13°53'S
29 Oct 2025 09:21 PDTMoon at First Quarter21°57'S
05 Nov 2025 05:19 PSTFull Moon19°47'N
11 Nov 2025 21:28 PSTMoon at Last Quarter17°01'N
19 Nov 2025 22:48 PSTNew Moon24°19'S
27 Nov 2025 22:59 PSTMoon at First Quarter9°59'S
04 Dec 2025 15:13 PSTFull Moon27°16'N
11 Dec 2025 12:52 PSTMoon at Last Quarter3°30'N
19 Dec 2025 17:44 PSTNew Moon28°13'S
27 Dec 2025 11:10 PSTMoon at First Quarter4°19'N

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South El Monte

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34.05°N
118.05°W
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