Moon Photography Planner

What it does

Calculates the moon's phase, illumination percentage, rise and set times, and position for any date and location you choose — everything you'd want to know before planning a moon-focused shot, from a full moon rising behind a landmark to picking a dark, new-moon night for Milky Way work instead.

What you'll need

• Your location — either tap “Use my location” or enter latitude/longitude manually.
• The date you're planning for.

Steps

1. Set your location.
2. Pick a date — defaults to today.
3. Read the moon's phase, illumination, rise/set times, and position.

Reading the result

Illumination is the percentage of the moon's visible disc lit by the sun — 0% at new moon, 100% at full moon. Moonrise/moonset can show “Always up” or “Always down” at high latitudes during parts of the year, when the moon doesn't cross the horizon that day at all. Azimuth/elevation are shown for local noon on the chosen date as a reference point — for an exact moment, use the Sun & Moon Compass tool's live reading, or note that the moon's position shifts noticeably even within a few hours.

Tips

• For a moonrise-behind-a-landmark shot, a nearly full moon rising close to sunset gives the most usable light on both the moon and the landscape at once.
• For deep-sky or Milky Way work, plan around the days close to new moon (low illumination), when moonlight won't wash out the sky — see the Milky Way Planner tool.

What do moon phase and illumination actually measure?

Moon phase describes where the moon sits in its roughly 29.5-day cycle around Earth — new, first quarter, full, last quarter, and the waxing/waning stages between. Illumination is the percentage of the moon's visible disc actually lit by the sun at that point in the cycle: 0% at new moon, 100% at full moon, and everything in between as it waxes and wanes.

Why photographers use it

The moon's phase drives two very different kinds of photography. A bright, heavily-illuminated moon is the subject itself — ideal for a moonrise-behind-a-landmark shot or a detailed close-up of the lunar surface. A dark, low-illumination moon (near new moon) is what deep-sky and Milky Way photographers actually want, since moonlight washes out faint stars and the galactic core the same way a streetlight washes out a dim room.

Common mistakes

• Planning a moonrise landmark shot around a full moon without checking the clock. a full moon rises almost exactly at sunset and sets almost exactly at sunrise — any other phase rises and sets at a different, less convenient time relative to daylight, so phase and timing need to be checked together, not phase alone.
• Scheduling Milky Way or star photography during a bright moon phase. a gibbous or full moon brightens the whole sky and can wash out fainter stars and the galactic core almost entirely — check illumination percentage, not just "is there a moon out tonight."
• Assuming the moon rises and sets at the same time every day. moonrise/moonset shift by roughly 50 minutes later each day, unlike the sun's much more gradual daily shift — a plan based on "last week's moonrise time" will be off by hours.

Example settings

FAQ

What's the difference between "phase" and "illumination"?

Phase names the stage in the cycle (Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, and so on); illumination gives the actual percentage of the disc lit. Two dates can share a phase name but differ slightly in illumination, since phase names cover a range rather than one exact point.

Why does it say "Always up" or "Always down" for moonrise/moonset?

At high latitudes, the moon can stay continuously above or below the horizon for a stretch of days, similar to the sun's polar day/night effect — an actual astronomical effect at extreme latitudes, not a bug.

How much does moonlight actually affect night photography?

Significantly — even a half-illuminated moon well above the horizon brightens the sky enough to noticeably reduce how many stars and how much Milky Way detail your camera can pick up compared to a genuinely dark, new-moon sky.