Lunar Phases

Southern Hemisphere Lunar Phases

The Moon moves about 15 degrees (almost a hand span) across the sky from from night to night. The side of the Moon toward the Sun is lit, so before full moon the left side of the Moon (for Southern hemisphere viewers) is the lit side. The right side of the moon is lit after full moon.

The Moon looks different in the Southern Hemisphere than it does in the Northern Hemisphere. That's because folk in the Northern Hemisphere view the Moon upside down. The following images taken by Maurice Collins show the Moon the way it ought to look, at least for Southern Hemisphere observers. See the bottom of the page for images of (near) new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter moon.

The following images taken by Maurice Collins show the Moon as new(ish), first quarter, full moon and last quarter. The Moon takes about a month to go from new moon through its various phases and back to new moon. Indeed, the word month derives directly from that cycle.

The details on the moon change dramatically from day to day. Indeed even from hour to hour the change in details can be facinating with some features only observable for a few hours at the right phase. Binoculars or a small telescope are fine as a starting point for observing the Moon.

The first image shows the evolution of the moon's phase at about two day intervals during April 2009.

Moon Phases for 2025, New Zealand dates and times

New MoonFirst quarterFull MoonLast quarter
Date and times NZDT = UT + 13 hours

7 Jan 2025 12:5614 Jan 2025 11:2722 Jan 2025 9:31
30 Jan 2025 1:365 Feb 2025 21:0213 Feb 2025 2:5321 Feb 2025 6:33
28 Feb 2025 13:457 Mar 2025 5:3214 Mar 2025 19:5523 Mar 2025 0:29
29 Mar 2025 23:585 Apr 2025 15:15

Date and times NZST = UT + 12 hours


13 Apr 2025 12:2221 Apr 2025 13:35
28 Apr 2025 7:315 May 2025 1:5213 May 2025 4:5620 May 2025 23:59
27 May 2025 15:023 Jun 2025 15:4111 Jun 2025 19:4419 Jun 2025 7:19
25 Jun 2025 22:323 Jul 2025 7:3011 Jul 2025 8:3718 Jul 2025 12:38
25 Jul 2025 7:112 Aug 2025 0:419 Aug 2025 19:5516 Aug 2025 17:12
23 Aug 2025 18:0631 Aug 2025 18:258 Sep 2025 6:0914 Sep 2025 22:33
22 Sep 2025 7:54


Date and times NZDT = UT + 13 hours

30 Sep 2025 12:547 Oct 2025 16:4814 Oct 2025 7:13
22 Oct 2025 1:2530 Oct 2025 5:216 Nov 2025 2:1912 Nov 2025 18:28
20 Nov 2025 19:4728 Nov 2025 19:595 Dec 2025 12:1412 Dec 2025 9:52
20 Dec 2025 14:4328 Dec 2025 8:10

Dates and times modified from GUIDE 8


Moon Phases for 2026, New Zealand dates and times

New MoonFirst quarterFull MoonLast quarter
Date and times NZDT = UT + 13 hours


3 Jan 2026 23:0311 Jan 2026 4:48
19 Jan 2026 8:5226 Jan 2026 17:472 Feb 2026 11:0910 Feb 2026 1:43
18 Feb 2026 1:0125 Feb 2026 1:284 Mar 2026 0:3811 Mar 2026 22:39
19 Mar 2026 14:2426 Mar 2026 8:182 Apr 2026 15:12
Date and times NZST = UT + 12 hours



10 Apr 2026 16:52
17 Apr 2026 23:5224 Apr 2026 14:322 May 2026 5:2310 May 2026 9:10
17 May 2026 8:0123 May 2026 23:1131 May 2026 20:458 Jun 2026 22:01
15 Jun 2026 14:5422 Jun 2026 9:5630 Jun 2026 11:578 Jul 2026 7:29
14 Jul 2026 21:4421 Jul 2026 23:0630 Jul 2026 2:366 Aug 2026 14:21
13 Aug 2026 5:3720 Aug 2026 14:4628 Aug 2026 16:194 Sep 2026 19:51
11 Sep 2026 15:2719 Sep 2026 8:44

Date and times NZDT = UT + 13 hours


27 Sep 2026 5:494 Oct 2026 2:25
11 Oct 2026 4:5019 Oct 2026 5:1326 Oct 2026 17:122 Nov 2026 9:28
9 Nov 2026 20:0218 Nov 2026 0:4825 Nov 2026 3:541 Dec 2026 19:09
9 Dec 2026 13:5217 Dec 2026 18:4324 Dec 2026 14:2831 Dec 2026 8:00

Dates and times modified from GUIDE 8


This two and a half day old Moon is about as soon after new moon that a good lunar image can be obtained. Any earlier and the Moon is too close in the sky to the Sun.

The lunar cycle takes close to four weeks so seven days is a quarter of the way through the cycle, first quarter, even though the Moon is half lit. Notice how the detail increases toward the terminator (the day/night or light/dark line) where the shadows cast by lunar features are longer - think morning/evening shadows.

Two weeks in is half way through the cycle and the Moon is fully lit. At full moon the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of the Earth so the Moon rises as the Sun sets, and sets as the Sun rises. During full moon shadows are short on the Moon (think midday shadows on Earth) so very little crater detail can be seen, but "seas" and the rays from large craters are easy to see.

Week three of four and last quarter. You'll need to stay up late or get up early in the morning to observe the Moon now. The last quarter Moon rises near midnight.