Questioning the place the moon is disappearing to? That is because of the lunar cycle, that means every evening a bit much less of it’s lit up till it disappears fully on the New Moon.

What’s right now’s moon part?

As of Sunday, Nov. 16, the moon part is Waning Crescent. This implies 12% of the moon is lit up tonight, in accordance with NASA’s Daily Moon Observation.

There’s not as a lot to see tonight, however when you look exhausting sufficient, you would possibly spot just a few options. If you haven’t any visible aids, you’ll spot the Aristarchus Plateau. This can be a 25-mile diameter crater. With binoculars you may additionally be capable to see the Grimaldi Basin, and with a telescope you may see the Reiner Gamma.

When is the following full moon?

The following full moon shall be on Dec. 4.

What are moon phases?

Moon phases, just like the Waning Crescent, are all a part of a 29.5-day lunar cycle, in accordance with NASA. These phases are how the moon appears to be like from Earth because it goes round us. We all the time see the identical facet of the moon, however how a lot of it’s lit up by the Solar adjustments relying on the place it’s in its orbit. So, typically it appears to be like full, typically half, and typically not there in any respect (aka, the New Moon). There are eight fundamental moon phases, and so they comply with a repeating cycle:

The eight fundamental moon phases are:

Mashable Gentle Velocity

New Moon – The moon is between Earth and the solar, so the facet we see is darkish (in different phrases, it is invisible to the attention).

Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of sunshine seems on the suitable facet (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter – Half of the moon is lit on the suitable facet. It appears to be like like a half-moon.

Waxing Gibbous – Greater than half is lit up, nevertheless it’s not fairly full but.

Full Moon – The entire face of the moon is illuminated and totally seen.

Waning Gibbous – The moon begins dropping gentle on the suitable facet. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Final Quarter) – One other half-moon, however now the left facet is lit.

Waning Crescent – A skinny sliver of sunshine stays on the left facet earlier than going darkish once more.