Earth's Moon: Formation, Composition and Orbit

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Latest about moon phases

A horizontal green line bisects through the middle. At its center, a bright yellow circled labeled Sun. Blue lines that for a long downward slanted C connect stars to show a constellation.

New moon of July 2024: Dark skies tonight as Earth is farthest from the sun today

By Jesse Emspak published

The new moon of July 2024 occurs today as Earth reaches its farthest point from the sun, known as aphelion.

Stargazing
The moon known as 'Strawberry Moon' rises over the Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounion in Athens, Greece on June 21, 2024

Sweet Strawberry Moon, first full moon of summer, thrills stargazers around the world (photos)

By Josh Dinner, Tariq Malik published

June's Strawberry Full Moon of 2024 delighted skywatcher from across the globe, and was captured in some amazing photos.

Stargazing
June 2024 night sky

New moon of June 2024 tonight lets Saturn, Mars and Jupiter shine

By Jesse Emspak published

The dark skies of the new moon of June 2024 will allow some of the naked eye planets to stand out late in the night after midnight.

Stargazing
a full moon rises above a small pagoda

June full moon 2024: The Strawberry Moon follows the solstice

By Jesse Emspak last updated

Reference The Full Strawberry Moon of June 2024 moon will pass in front of – or occult – the red supergiant star Antares the day before the full moon.

Reference
a transparent ram is angled head-down on the right, with the transparent limbs of an unidentifiable beast splashing out of a layer of transparent water on the left half. Stars within the transparencies are connected with blue lines to indicate constellation shapes. A bright yelllow/white star in the center is neighbored to the immediate upper right by the black circle of a new moon, and bisected diagonally from the upper left.

New moon of May 2024 tonight welcomes the stars of summer

By Jesse Emspak published

The new moon of May 2024 will see the bright constellations of summer begin to rise just as those of winter sink below the horizon.

The moon
a bright full moon in the night sky

May full moon 2024: The Flower Moon crosses the Scorpion's Heart

By Jesse Emspak last updated

Reference The Full Flower Moon of May 2024 will see the moon pass in front of the red star Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius, the Scorpion.

Reference
photo of a solar eclipse, showing the moon's dark outline blocking out the sun

New moon phase on April 8 will bring on the 2024 total solar eclipse

By Jesse Emspak published

This month's new moon, which occurs on April 8, is a special one: It will cause a total solar eclipse, the last such event to grace the contiguous United States for two decades.

Stargazing
a half-shaded moon hangs large in the sky.

See the last half moon of 2023 swim with the fish of Pisces tonight

By Brett Tingley published

The moon reaches its first quarter moon phase on Dec. 19, crossing the sky in the Pisces constellation as the last half-moon of 2023.

Stargazing
green lines indicate the paths of the moon and mars across the night sky, through the constellation libra

November's new moon lets the winter constellations shine bright tonight

By Jesse Emspak published

November is when the winter constellations of the Northern Hemisphere become more prominent; it's the time of year when Orion, Taurus and Gemini are visible almost all night long.

The moon
an orange moon rises from behind the top of a dark hill, shining through the scaffolding frame of a domed observatory.

See the world's largest telescope dwarfed by the Full Hunter's Moon (photo)

By Samantha Mathewson published

The steel skeleton of the world's largest visible- and infrared-light telescope is illuminated by the rising full moon in a gorgeous new photo from the European Southern Observatory.

Stargazing
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