What the moon will appear to be on August 9, 2025

The full moon is lastly right here, and should you’re fortunate sufficient to be graced with a cloudless night time, there’s so much to see as we enter the subsequent part of the lunar cycle.

This is a collection of eight distinctive phases of the moon’s visibility. The complete cycle takes about 29.5 days, according to NASA, and these totally different phases occur because the Sun lights up totally different elements of the moon while it orbits Earth.

So, what’s taking place with the moon tonight, Aug. 9?

What is at present’s moon part?

As of Saturday, Aug. 9, the moon part is Full Moon, and it’s 100% lit (NASA’s Daily Moon Observation confirms this).

This month’s full moon is named the Sturgeon Moon, an ode to fishing tribes and the plentiful sturgeon fish that was caught within the month of August.

There’s a lot to be seen on the moon’s floor tonight, however pay explicit consideration to the Mare Vaporum, the Mare Fecunditatis, and the Mare Tranquillitatis, all of which could be seen with the bare eye.

When is the subsequent full moon?

The subsequent full moon shall be on September 7.

What are moon phases?

According to NASA, moon phases are attributable to the 29.5-day cycle of the moon’s orbit, which adjustments the angles between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Moon phases are how the moon seems from Earth because it goes round us. We all the time see the identical aspect of the moon, however how a lot of it’s lit up by the Sun adjustments relying on the place it’s in its orbit. This is how we get full moons, half moons, and moons that seem utterly invisible. There are eight primary moon phases, and so they observe a repeating cycle:

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

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

First Quarter – Half of the moon is lit on the appropriate aspect. It seems like a half-moon.

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

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

Waning Gibbous – The moon begins shedding gentle on the appropriate aspect.

Last Quarter (or Third Quarter) – Another half-moon, however now the left aspect is lit.

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