Moon phase and dark-sky night planner
Pick a date to see the moon’s phase, how much of the disc is lit, and which of the next 30 nights are best for faint objects such as galaxies and the Milky Way.
| Date | Phase | Lit | Dark-sky rating |
|---|
How it works
The tool counts days from a known new moon (6 January 2000, 18:14 UTC) and divides by the average lunar cycle of 29.530589 days. Illumination follows from that cycle position. Because the moon’s real orbit is not a perfect circle, the actual phase can differ from this average by up to about half a day, so dates of new and full moon are accurate to roughly a day. Ratings are a rule of thumb: under 10 percent lit is dark, 10 to 40 percent is moderate, above 40 percent is bright. Moonrise and moonset times, which also matter, are not calculated here. For the full viewing plan, see October 2026 night sky: a seven-step viewing plan.