Any night from 1900 to today
The moon on the night you were born
Pick your birthday. We’ll draw the moon as it hung over America that night, and tell you when it comes back on your birthday.
One cycle, 29.5 days
The eight phases of the moon
The moon is always half lit by the Sun. What changes is how much of that half we see as it circles Earth, from new to full and back in about 29.5 days.
New moon
Between us and the Sun, its lit side faces away. The sky is at its darkest.
Waxing crescent
A thin sliver in the west after sunset, growing each night.
First quarter
Half lit on the right, high in the south at dusk.
Waxing gibbous
Most of the disc, rising in the afternoon and up most of the night.
Full moon
Opposite the Sun: it rises at sunset and lights the whole night.
Waning gibbous
Rising after dark and still bright in the morning sky.
Last quarter
Half lit on the left, rising around midnight.
Waning crescent
A sliver in the east before dawn, shrinking toward new.
The moon on famous American days
- The March on WashingtonAugust 28, 1963 · waxing gibbous, 67% lit
- The Beatles on Ed SullivanFebruary 9, 1964 · waning crescent, 12% lit
- The first footsteps on the MoonJuly 20, 1969 · waxing crescent, 35% lit
- The first morning of 2000January 1, 2000 · waning crescent, 19% lit
- The iPhone is unveiledJanuary 9, 2007 · waning gibbous, 64% lit
- Curiosity lands on MarsAugust 5, 2012 · waning gibbous, 83% lit
- The first picture of a black holeApril 10, 2019 · waxing crescent, 31% lit
About the moon
Good to
know.
How do I find the moon phase on the day I was born?
Pick your birthday above. You’ll see the moon as it looked that night, how much of it was lit, the nearest new and full moons, and the coming birthdays that share your moon.
What time of day does the answer use?
9 p.m. Eastern time on your birthday, which is evening across the continental U.S. The phase changes slowly, so the name is the same almost everywhere that night. Your full Bornplace story uses your own city and birth time.
How accurate is it?
The positions come from astronomy-engine, an open-source library that follows the same models as professional almanacs, accurate to about one arcminute (a thirtieth of the moon’s width) for any date since 1900.
Will my birthday have the same moon again?
Yes. Every 19 years the moon phases come back to nearly the same calendar dates (the Metonic cycle), so your 19th, 38th, 57th and 76th birthdays are usually under the same moon you were born under.
Are more babies born during a full moon?
It’s a popular belief, but large studies of U.S. birth records haven’t found any link between the moon phase and the number of births.
Your day, not just your year
The moon was only the start. See the whole sky.
Add your city and we’ll show the planets above it that night, the weather outside, and the #1 song that week.
See your exact day →The weather, the sky and the #1 song from that exact day, in your city