Moon Phase
Tonight's moon phase, on every computer you use
The moon's phase, how much of it is lit and when the next full moon comes, worked out on your own computer. It sits on your DashSuey board beside the weather and moves on by itself.
- Needs
- Nothing. It has no settings.
- Reads from
- Your computer's own clock and time zone
- Updates
- Every minute, on its own
On your board, beside the sky and the day
The moon next to sunrise and sunset, the date and a clock, the way the At a glance starter board places it. The board is saved to your account, so it looks the same on every computer you sign in on.
Sunrise & Sunset
Date
Clock
Year Dots
Every tile here is live in your browser. Sunrise and sunset use the place your connection suggests, or Chicago when there is none.
What it shows
- The moon now
- A picture of the moon as it looks from the northern hemisphere, with the phase's name and how much is lit.
- Phase names
- Eight: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent. A new, quarter or full moon is named on its own date in your time zone.
- Upcoming
- The next three of the new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter, with the days to go and the date.
- The cycle
- The day of this lunar month and how far through it the moon is, as a bar along the bottom.
- Any size
- Side by side on a wide tile; on a short, narrow one, just the moon, its name and the percent.
- Settings
- None. It always shows the moon now.
- Where it lives
- On your board, saved to your account, and the same on every computer you sign in on.
How the moon is worked out
The dates of the new moon, the quarters and the full moon come from the method in Jean Meeus's Astronomical Algorithms, which puts each one within about a minute of the published times. How much is lit comes from where the Moon and the Sun are in the sky right now. It all runs on your computer, from its clock, with nothing sent anywhere.
The dates are given in your time zone, so a full moon late in the evening in Chicago can fall on the next morning in New York. Both are the same moment.
What it does not do
- It shows no moonrise or moonset. It doesn't know where you are.
- It has no calendar. It shows the moon now and the next three phases.
- It draws the moon as seen from the northern hemisphere.
- It doesn't name full moons, eclipses or supermoons.
Questions people ask
What phase is the moon tonight?
The line under the widget at the top of this page says, with how much of the moon is lit, worked out on your computer from its clock. On your board, the widget shows the name and the percent under the moon.
How many days until the full moon?
The widget lists the next three phases with the days to go and the date, in your time zone, and the line at the top of this page gives the next full moon.
Is the moon phase the same across the United States?
Yes. The moon is in the same phase everywhere at the same moment. What changes is the clock time, and sometimes the date: the October 2026 full moon comes at 11:12pm on October 25 in Chicago and 12:12am on October 26 in New York. The widget gives dates in your own time zone.
How many lunar phases are there?
Eight names: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent. Four of them are moments, and four are the days in between. The widget uses all eight.
How long is a lunar cycle?
About 29.5 days from one new moon to the next, on average. Real months run several hours longer or shorter, and the widget uses the real ones. The strip along the bottom shows the day of this one.
How is the moon phase worked out?
From Jean Meeus's Astronomical Algorithms: the dates of the new moon, quarters and full moon to within about a minute, and how much is lit from where the Moon and the Sun are right now. It runs on your computer, from its own clock.
What does waxing gibbous mean?
More than half lit and still growing: the days between the first quarter and the full moon. Waning is the same shape shrinking after the full moon.
Is there a moon phase widget for my computer?
Moon Phase runs in your browser as part of your DashSuey board, so it works the same on Windows, a Mac or a Chromebook, with nothing to install. The board follows you to every computer you sign in on. There's no phone app.
Does it show moonrise and moonset?
No. The widget doesn't know where you are, so it shows the phase, the percent lit and the next phases. For the sun, the Sunrise & Sunset widget gives sunrise and sunset.