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Waxing Crescent on 05/21/2018
May 21
Waxing Crescent
43%
First Quarter on 05/22/2018
May 22
First Quarter
54%
Waxing Gibbous on 05/23/2018
May 23
Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 65%
Waxing Gibbous on 05/24/2018
May 24
Waxing Gibbous
75%
Waxing Gibbous on 05/25/2018
May 25
Waxing Gibbous
83%
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Moon Phase: May 23, 2018

On this day the Moon was in a Waxing Gibbous phase. Visible through most of the night sky setting a few hours before sunrise. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. The phase lasts about 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. This September Full Moon will be the forth and final supermoon of 2023.

During a Waxing Gibbous the moon rises in the east in mid-afternoon and is high in the eastern sky at sunset. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word "gibbosus" meaning humpbacked.

Visit the May 2018 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Waxing Gibbous Phase

The Waxing Gibbous on May 23 has an illumination of 65%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On May 23 the Moon is 8.79 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

TODAY'S MOON PHASEtodays moon

Phase Details for - May 23

Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 65%
Moon Age: 8.79 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 372,339.40 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,488,588.27 km

Useful Moon Resources


Waxing Gibbous Moonrise and Moonset

WaxG_65. WaxG_65 WaxG_65 moon rise
moon rise up average moon rise
moon rise up Average Mid-phase
moon rise up Average Moon Set