First quarter Moon: next date, how it looks and how long it lasts
The next first quarter Moon starts and ends . It lasts 4 days this cycle, with the Moon growing from 31% to 69% lit.
The cycle
Where the first quarter Moon sits in the cycle
- New Moon
- Waxing crescent
- First quarterNext: , then
- Waxing gibbous
- Full Moon
- Waning gibbous
- Last quarter
- Waning crescent
What the first quarter is
- Angle east of the Sun
- 67.5° to 112.5°
- Share lit
- 31% to 69%
- Moon age
- 5.5 to 9.2 days after new Moon
- Trend
- Growing each night
At first quarter the Moon has covered one quarter of its orbit since new Moon, and from Earth it looks half lit. The two halves of that sentence are different things: a quarter of the orbit, but half of the face.
The Sun, Earth and Moon form a right angle. The exact first quarter is a single instant, when the Sun-Moon angle is 90 degrees. The phase that carries the name lasts a few days around that instant, so on the day itself you may see a Moon a little under or over half.
How the first quarter looks
A half disc with its lit half on the right in the Northern Hemisphere. The straight edge is the line between lunar day and night.
Along that line the Sun is just rising over the Moon's surface, so mountains and crater walls cast long shadows. That is why binoculars show the most surface detail at this phase: relief stands out best where light comes in sideways.
What to look for. Run your eye along the straight edge. Crater rims there look jagged, and each night the line has moved a little further across the face.
Northern Hemisphere
The right half is lit.
Start: 31% lit
Middle: 50% lit
End: 69% lit
Southern Hemisphere
The left half is lit.
Start: 31% lit
Middle: 50% lit
End: 69% lit
The Moon at the start, the middle and the end of this phase; the Southern Hemisphere sees each disc upside down.
Good to know
- Tides have their smallest range around the quarters, known as neap tides, because the Sun and Moon pull on the oceans from directions at right angles.
- The Moon's age at the exact first quarter is about 7.4 days, a quarter of the 29.53-day cycle.
- The edge only looks straight: the true day-night boundary is a half circle that we see exactly side-on.
When the first quarter is up
A first quarter Moon is already up in the afternoon, so you can often spot it in a blue daytime sky. It stands highest around sunset, due south from the Northern Hemisphere and due north from the Southern.
It sets about six hours after the Sun, near midnight. That makes it the Moon for an early-evening walk: dark enough to see the half disc clearly, and gone for the second half of the night.
Taking sunrise at 6 am and sunset at 6 pm, a first quarter Moon typically:
- Rises around
- 10:30 am to 2 pm
- Is highest around
- 4:30 pm to 8 pm
- Sets around
- 10:30 pm to 2 am
The season and your latitude can move these times by an hour or two. For your own moonrise and moonset, open the moonrise and moonset page.
How long the first quarter lasts
- Average length
- 3.69 days, an eighth of the cycle
- Next one
- 4 days
- Shortest of the six
- 3 days 10 hours
- Longest of the six
- 4 days
The exact quarter lands roughly in the middle of the phase, a day and a half to two days after it starts. The Moon moves fastest near its closest point to Earth and slowest near its farthest, so the same 45 degrees can pass in a little over three days or a little over four.
The next six, in your time zone
| Starts | Exact first quarter | Ends | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 days | |||
| 3 days 20 hours | |||
| 3 days 16 hours | |||
| 3 days 13 hours | |||
| 3 days 11 hours | |||
| 3 days 10 hours |
Questions people ask
Quick answers
What is a first quarter Moon?
The Moon is in this phase while the angle between the Sun and the Moon runs from 67.5° to 112.5°. The share of the disc that is lit runs 31% to 69%.
How long does the first quarter Moon last?
The next one lasts 4 days. Over the cycle the six non-principal phases last between about 3.4 and 4 days each.
When is the next first quarter Moon?
The start and end dates are at the top of this page and in the table of the next six, in your time zone.
Does the first quarter Moon look different in the Southern Hemisphere?
Yes. The same phase is the other way round: the lit side that is on the right in the north shows on the left in the south.
Can I see the first quarter Moon in daylight?
Often, because every phase except the new Moon spends some of its time above the horizon in the day. It is easiest to spot when it stands high in a clear sky.