An analysis of moon's mineral composition suggests that the moon is around 4.425 billion years old.

What's unique about the Moon?

Here are the top 5 things that make the Moon so unique. 1. The Moon is Earth's only permanent natural satellite. 2. Moon dust smells like gunpowder. 3. The Moon keeps the same face pointing toward the Earth. 4. The Moon has no – or just a really thin – atmosphere so there is no weather. 5. The Moon is visible in daylight nearly every day.

Does the Moon make its own light?

No, it doesn’t generate its own light. “Moonlight” is really sunlight that has reflected off of the Moon’s surface. In the same way that the Sun illuminates Earth, the Moon reflects the Sun's light, making it appear bright in our sky.

The Moon is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the biggest in comparison to its host planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth. The exact diameter is 2159.14 miles (3 474.8 km ).

What is the Moon made of? What is inside Moon?

The Moon crust is made of composed primarily of oxygen (O), silicon (Si), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), and aluminum (Al), but important minor and trace elements such as titanium (Ti), uranium (U), thorium (Th), potassium (K), and hydrogen (H) are present as well. Below the crust is the mantle coming, with a thickness of roughly 1350 km is far more extensive than the crust, which has an average thickness of about 50 km. The mantle is made of olivine, orthopyroxene and clino pyroxene. Finally, at the center is the Moon’s dense, metallic core. The core is largely composed of iron (Fe) and some nickel (Ni). The inner core is a solid mass of about 480 km in diameter. Surrounding the solid inner core is a fluid outer core, that brings the total diameter of the core to about 660 km.

Does it rain on the Moon?

No, the moon has no water and has only a very thin and tenuous atmosphere (called an exosphere) so it cannot trap heat or insulate the surface. So, for example, there is no wind to create weather system. The Moon does, in fact, affect the Earth's climate and weather patterns in several subtle ways.

A supermoon occurs when the Moon's orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time the Moon is full. At such a time, the Moon can look larger and brighter than it normally does - especially when it is seen rising above the horizon. However, it's important to note that the actual difference in size and brightness between a supermoon and an average full moon is not typically dramatic, and may not be noticeable to the naked eye without a direct comparison.

Maanfase vandaag | moonphasetoday.org

Huidige maanfasen

Wat is de maanfase vandaag?

Maanfase vandaag: Afnemende maansikkel

Vorige fase: Laatste kwartier (2026-08-06)

Afstand tot de maan: 369,228 km

Verlichting: 35.8 %

Maanleeftijd: 23.5 dagen

Volgende fase: Nieuwe maan (2026-08-12)

Hoekgrootte van de maan: 0.54

Afstand tot de zon: 151,718,247 km

Sterrenbeeld van de maan: Tweelingen

Maanfasen kalender

Maanfasen voor de huidige maand

Maanfasen 2026 Juli

Maanfasen 2026 Augustus

Maanfasen September 2026

Maanfasen voor de huidige maancyclus

2026-07-14 – 2026-08-12

Maanfase	DATUM EN TIJD	DATUM EN TIJD (UTC)
Nieuwe maan		2026-07-14 09:45
Eerste kwartier		2026-07-21 11:05
Volle maan		2026-07-29 14:37
Laatste kwartier		2026-08-06 02:22
Nieuwe maan		2026-08-12 17:37

Tijdlijn van de maancyclus

Maanfasen uitgelegd

Nieuwe maan

Dit is de eerste en onzichtbare fase van de maan, waarbij de verlichte zijde naar de zon is gekeerd en de nachtzijde naar de aarde. De nieuwe maan is alleen direct zichtbaar tijdens een zonsverduistering.

Eerste kwartier

Een week na nieuwe maan volgt het eerste kwartier, wanneer de maan een kwart van haar baan heeft afgelegd. Het wordt ook wel halve maan genoemd. Een maan in het eerste kwartier komt rond het middaguur op en gaat rond middernacht onder.

Volle maan

Bij 100 % verlichting is de dagzijde van de maan recht naar de nachtzijde van de aarde gericht en is de maan vol. Een volle maan komt op bij zonsondergang en gaat onder bij zonsopkomst, en lijkt groter nabij de horizon.

Laatste kwartier

De maan komt in het laatste (derde) kwartier van haar baan op een leeftijd van bijna 23 dagen. Slechts de helft lijkt verlicht. Deze fase is laat in de nacht en in de vroege ochtend (rond 6 uur) te zien.

Vragen over de maan

Vragen en antwoorden over de maan

Why is the Moon so big tonight?

This is an optical illusion. The Moon looks large shortly after it rises when it's still touching the horizon. This is not the same as a Supermoon.

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What is the Moon good for?

The Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate.

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Is the Moon hot or cold?

It depends on the time of day. The Moon is very hot in the daytime and very cold at night. The average temperature on the Moon varies from -298 degrees Fahrenheit (-183 degrees Celsius), at night, to 224 degrees Fahrenheit (106 degrees Celsius) during the day.

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Why is the Moon orange tonight?

An orange moon means the shorter wavelengths of light are being filtered away. This could be due to the low position on the horizon causing the light to go through more atmosphere, smoke in the air, or pollution.

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What is a Micromoon?

A "micromoon" is a term used in popular astronomy to describe a full moon or a new moon that occurs when the moon is at or near its apogee, which is the furthest point from Earth in its elliptical orbit. This is the opposite of a "supermoon," which occurs when a full moon or new moon is at or near its perigee, which is the closest point to Earth in its orbit."

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What are the 4 types of Moon phases?

There are four major lunar phases: the New Moon, the First Quarter, the Full Moon, and the Last Quarter (also known as the Third or Final Quarter). There are also four minor phases: waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, and waning crescent.

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What is a Third Quarter?

The Third Quarter (sometimes called as Last Quarter) is the seventh lunar phase. The Moon looks like its half illuminated from the perspective of Earth, but you’re really seeing just half of the Moon, that’s illuminated by the Sun, so it’s a quarter. You can see this phase at from midnight to early morning (6 am).

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What is Half Moon called?

Half Moon is used to mean the first- and third-quarter moons, while the term quarter refers to the extent of the Moon's cycle around the Earth, not its shape. So a Half Moon is when only half of the Moon’s surface facing the Earth is lit by light from the Sun.

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What is a Waxing Gibbous?

This is the fourth phase of the Moon. The waxing gibbous phase is between a Half Moon and Full Moon and waxing means that the Moon is getting bigger and bigger. This phase of the Moon can be seen from late afternoon and most of the night (from 3 pm to 3 am).

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What is a New Moon?

This is the first and invisible phase of the Moon, with the illuminated side of the Moon facing the Sun and the night side facing the Earth.

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What is a lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned with Earth between the other two, which can happen only on the night of a Full Moon. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon falls entirely within the Earth's umbra.

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What Does the Moon smell like?

Moon dust smells like gunpowder. Just to be clear, moondust and gunpowder are not the same thing, so why is this gunpowder smell? No one really knows.

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Is the Moon male or female?

In many languages the Moon is gender neutral, in other languages it’s not. For example, in French, the Moon is feminine (la lune) and in German, the Moon is masculine (der Mond). From a cultural point of view, the Moon is often referred as feminine. For example, in Greek mythology, Selene was the Goddess of the Moon and so the Moon has been known as Selene. In Roman mythology, it was the Goddess Luna, from where we get Lunar cycles from. This would give the moon a female gender.

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What Is a Blue Moon and When Is the Next One?

At first, Blue Moon is nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon. A Blue Moon is the second Full Moon in a calendar month. Typically, months have only one Full Moon, but sometimes a second one sneaks in. Most months are 30 or 31 days long while Full Moons are separated by 29 days, so it’s possible to fit two full moons in a single month. This happens every two and a half years, on average. Blue Moons dependent on the Gregorian calendar and time zones so you should check our Moon Calendar.

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What Moon is best to cut hair?

Believers in the lunar cycle effects on human bodies (including the hair) ascribe a similarly forceful effect of this gravitational field on the bodies of humans and animals. According to their belief system, hair grows stronger, hair care products work better, and the styling is more beautiful if the hair care regimen is scheduled according to the lunar calendar. Conditions during the waxing moon promote hair growth after a haircut. Therefore, you should cut your hair between the new and full moon if you want your hair to grow fast after a haircut.

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