The Moon right now
Its face at the site clock’s time. Drag the Moon sideways to wind the days, or press Play and watch it swell, shrink and nod over a month. Yes, it nods. Watch the edges.
- Doing the sums
- Distance from Earth
- Which way the face is turned
- Next full Moon
- Next new Moon
The surface is NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter map, lit from where the Sun really is and turned the way the Moon is turned at that moment, as seen from the centre of the Earth with celestial north at the top. Two confessions. My hills and crater walls are shaded by their real slopes but cast no shadows, and the faint glow on the night side only stands in for earthshine. From the southern hemisphere the whole picture is upside down. See every full Moon and eclipse on the sky calendar