Moon phases for kids
Explore a Moon phase simulator, printable worksheet and journal, Moon facts, hemispheres, earthshine, colours, halos and symbols.
Moon phase simulator
First quarter: 50.0% of the disc is lit.
The Sun lights half the Moon throughout the orbit. The fraction of that half facing Earth changes. This diagram uses a circular orbit viewed from above the north pole.
Moon phase worksheet · ages 8–12
Write your name and the date. Label each Moon, then draw the next phase.
1. __________________
2. __________________
3. __________________
4. __________________
- Which phase rises around sunset?
- Does a quarter Moon look one-quarter or one-half lit?
- Draw the next phase after a waxing crescent.
Observation journal
| Date / time | Shape / sketch | Direction / weather |
|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
Answer key
Labels: 1 New Moon, 2 First quarter, 3 Full Moon, 4 Last quarter. Sunset: Full Moon. A quarter Moon looks half lit. Waxing crescent is followed by first quarter.
Moon facts
- Mean Earth–Moon distance
- 384,400 km
- Mean lunar radius
- 1,737.4 km
- Mean phase cycle
- 29.5306 days
- Orbit against the stars
- 27.3217 days
- Surface gravity
- 1.62 m/s²
The phase cycle is longer than the orbit against the stars because Earth moves around the Sun while the Moon moves around Earth. NASA Moon facts lists physical properties and orbital context.
Moon phases in the southern hemisphere
The phase instant is the same worldwide; the disc’s orientation changes with your position. At 13 October 2026 at 12:00 BST, these discs show the horizon-relative view at 51.5074°, -0.1278° and -51.5°, -0.1°.
North · altitude 5.7°
South · altitude 46.6°
Earthshine
Earthshine lights the dark part of a crescent: sunlight reflects from Earth to the Moon, then back to your eyes. Look for it beside a thin evening crescent after new Moon or a morning crescent before new Moon.
Find crescent viewing geometryWhy is the Moon orange?
Near the horizon, Moonlight crosses more air. Scattering removes more blue light, leaving orange or red tones. During a total lunar eclipse, sunlight filtered through Earth’s atmosphere lights the Moon red. Camera white balance also changes a photograph’s colour. A Pink Moon is a seasonal name, not a prediction of pink colour.
Moon halo
A common 22° halo forms when Moonlight refracts through hexagonal ice crystals in high cloud. Its radius is about the span of a hand held at arm’s length. It describes cloud optics, while Moon phase describes Sun–Moon geometry.
Moon phase symbols and emoji
| Copy symbol | Phase | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
| 🌑 | New Moon | U+1F311 |
| 🌒 | Waxing crescent | U+1F312 |
| 🌓 | First quarter | U+1F313 |
| 🌔 | Waxing gibbous | U+1F314 |
| 🌕 | Full Moon | U+1F315 |
| 🌖 | Waning gibbous | U+1F316 |
| 🌗 | Last quarter | U+1F317 |
| 🌘 | Waning crescent | U+1F318 |
Copy a symbol from the table. Emoji artwork varies by device; these phase symbols use the familiar north-up appearance.