First
Quarter ♊ Gemini
Moon phase for
Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio.
First Quarter 46% illuminated
First Quarter is the lunar phase on . Seen from Earth, illuminated fraction of the Moon surface is 46% and growing larger. The 7 days young Moon is in ♉ Taurus.
* The exact date and time of this First Quarter phase is on 19 February 2040 at 21:33 UTC.
Moon phases for next 7 days
Monday Mon
Tuesday Tue
Wednesday Wed
Thursday Thu
Friday Fri
Saturday Sat
Sunday Sun
Moon phase and lunation details
Moonrise and moonset
Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight. It is visible high in the southern sky in early evening.
Moon in ♉ Taurus
Moon is leaving the last ∠4° of ♉ Taurus tropical zodiac sector and will enter ♊ Gemini later.
Apparent angular diameter ∠1792"
Lunar disc appears visually 7.9% narrower than solar disc. Moon and Sun apparent angular diameters are ∠1792" and ∠1941".
Snow Moon after 8 days
Next Full Moon is the Snow Moon of February 2040 after 8 days on 28 February 2040 at 00:59.
Upcoming main Moon phases
- Full Moon in Virgo ♍ on 28 February 2040 at 00:59
- Last Quarter in Sagittarius ♐ on 6 March 2040 at 07:19
- New Moon in Pisces ♓ on 13 March 2040 at 01:46
- First Quarter in Gemini ♊ on 20 March 2040 at 17:59
Moderate tide
There is medium ocean tide on this date. Sun and Moon gravitational forces are not aligned, but meet at very acute angle, so their combined tidal force is moderate.
Lunation 496 / 1449
The Moon is 7 days young. Earth's natural satellite is moving through the first part of current synodic month. This is lunation 496 of Meeus index or 1449 from Brown series.
Synodic month length 29.47 days
The length of the lunation is 29 days, 11 hours and 22 minutes. It is 52 minutes shorter than the next lunation's length. The lengths of the following synodic months are going to increasing with the true anomaly getting closer to the value it has at the point of New Moon at apogee (∠180°).
Lunation length shorter than mean
The length of the current synodic month is 1 hour and 22 minutes shorter than the mean synodic month length. It is 4 hours and 47 minutes longer compared to 21st century's shortest synodic month length.
Lunar orbit position on
True anomaly ∠30.1°
At the beginning of the lunation cycle the true anomaly is ∠30.1°. At the beginning of next synodic month the true anomaly is going to be ∠53.5°.
Moon before perigee
8 days after point of perigee on 10 February 2040 at 18:42 in ♑ Capricorn. The lunar orbit is getting widen, while the Moon is moving away from the Earth. It will keep this direction over the next 3 days, until the Moon reaches the point of next apogee on 22 February 2040 at 15:18 in ♊ Gemini.
Distance to Moon 399 889 km
The Moon is 399 889 km (248 480 mi) away from Earth and getting further over the next 3 days until the point apogee when Earth-Moon distance is going to be 404 988 km (251 648 mi).
Moon before ascending node
11 days after descending node on 7 February 2040 at 15:18 in ♐ Sagittarius. The Moon is located south of the ecliptic over the following day, until the lunar orbit crosses from South to North in ascending node on 20 February 2040 at 14:18 in ♊ Gemini.
Draconic month
25 days since the beginning of current draconic month in ♊ Gemini, the Moon is navigating from the second to the final part of the cycle.
Moon before northern standstill
9 days since the previous standstill on 9 February 2040 at 16:13 in ♑ Capricorn when the Moon has reached South declination of ∠-25.560°, the lunar orbit is extending northward over the next 3 days to face maximum declination of ∠25.645° at the point of next northern standstill on 23 February 2040 at 04:38 in ♋ Cancer.
Syzygy in 8 days
In 8 days on 28 February 2040 at 00:59 in ♍ Virgo the Moon is going to be in a Full Moon geocentric opposition with the Sun and thus forming the next Sun-Earth-Moon syzygy alignment.
