Jernej LeticaPhotography Tools & Stories
Photo Printing

Moon phase for any date, place and time, as a print

Enter a date, a time and a place to see the moon phase, the lit share, moonrise and moonset. Then print a moon picture for up to three dates.

Built and written by Jernej Letica

Local browser processing · No upload · No account required

Phase
Illuminated
Age
Direction
Moonrise
Moonset
Next full moon
Next new moon
Print or gift picture

Up to three dates, each with a caption of up to 60 characters. The place above is used for every date.

How to make a moon phase print for a date

  1. Pick the date. Enter a time to see the moon at that moment, or leave it empty for noon.
  2. Choose a place from the list, use your location, or type the latitude and longitude in degrees.
  3. Read the phase, the lit share, the moonrise and moonset for that day, and the next full and new moon.
  4. Add up to three dates with a caption each, choose a dark or light background, and download the PNG or the PDF.

Why I made a print for each date

I wanted a gift that shows the sky on the night that matters: the night we met, the day of a wedding, the night a child was born. A photo of the moon from that night is rarely sharp, so I made the moon itself, drawn from its position on that date and at that place. The picture on the page is the one you print.

The phases in one cycle

The Moon goes through its phases in about a month. The phase depends on the angle between the Moon and the Sun as seen from the Earth. At new moon the Moon is close to the Sun in the sky and its lit side faces away from us. At full moon it is on the far side of the Earth from the Sun and its whole face is lit. The calculator names the phase in eight steps, and each step covers 45 degrees of that angle around its main phase.

Waxing and waning

The Moon is waxing while it is east of the Sun in the sky, so its lit part grows from one new moon to the next full moon. It is waning after the full moon, and the lit part shrinks until the next new moon. The page shows the direction for the moment you enter.

The lit share near new and full moon

The lit share is the part of the Moon's disc that the Sun lights, as seen from the Earth. It changes fastest at the quarter moons, when half the disc is lit. Close to the full moon and to the new moon it changes slowly, so a moment a few hours away from the peak still reads close to 100 % or close to 0 %.

Moonrise and moonset depend on the place

The Moon rises and sets a little later each day, and the time depends on where you stand. The calculator uses the latitude and longitude you enter for the calendar day you choose. Where the Moon does not rise or does not set on that day, the page says so.

Tips for better results

  • Enter the time of the moment you want to show. The phase is for one instant, so a time from the photo or from your diary gives a truer picture.
  • Use the place where the moment happened. A typed latitude and longitude works as well as a preset, and the moonrise and moonset follow it.
  • A dark background shows a lit moon best on a wall. A light background suits a card or a page in a book.
  • Keep each caption short. A caption can take up to 60 characters and prints on at most two lines.
  • Print on A4 at 300 DPI. The PNG is 2480 by 3508 pixels, the size of an A4 sheet at that resolution.

Privacy

Your location is read by the browser only when you press Use my location. The phase, the moonrise and the print are worked out and drawn on your device. The dates, the place and the captions are content that never leaves your device.

Frequently asked questions

What does the phase name mean?

It is one of eight names: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter and Waning Crescent. Each name covers 45 degrees of the Moon's angle from the Sun, centred on its main phase, so a moment close to a main phase gets that name.

Why can a new moon name show a little light?

The name covers a band of the cycle, not one instant. Shortly before or after the exact new moon, the phase is still named New Moon, and a sliver of the disc is lit. The illuminated percentage shows how much is lit at the moment you chose.

How accurate are the times?

In the checks made for this page, the phase times were within three minutes of the US Naval Observatory's published times for dates from 1900 to 2100, and moonrise and moonset were within about a minute for the dates compared.

Can I use a date before 1900 or after 2100?

No. The page covers the years from 1900 to 2100, the years its checks were run for, and asks for a date inside that range.

Does the page send my location or my dates anywhere?

No. The browser reads your location only when you press Use my location, and the moon, the moonrise and the print are calculated and drawn on your device. The PNG and PDF are saved to your computer by your browser.

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