 May 10 Waxing Crescent 20% |
 May 11 Waxing Crescent 29% |
 Waxing Crescent Illumination: 39% |
 May 13 First Quarter 49% |
 May 14 Waxing Gibbous 59% |
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Moon Phase: May 12, 2016
On this day the Moon was in a Waxing Crescent Phase. Best seen in the west after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. This is the first Phase after the New Moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon's surface. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for the right edge of the moon which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with a 50% illumination.
Visit the May 2016 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.
Waxing Crescent Phase
The Waxing Crescent on May 12 has an illumination of 39%. 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 12 the Moon is 6.37 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.
Phase Details for - May 12
Illumination: 39%
Moon Age: 6.37 days
Moon Angle: 0.51
Moon Distance: 387,042.67 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,172,640.95 km
Useful Moon Resources
Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com
For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society
Waxing Crescent Moonrise and Moonset
average moon rise Average Mid-phase Average Moon Set 