Moon Shows 30% Waxing Crescent on Nov. 15; Full Moon Arrives Nov. 24
NASA's Daily Moon Guide put the Moon in its Waxing Crescent phase on November 15, with 30% of its surface visible. Here is what skywatchers could spot, with or without binoculars, and when the next Full Moon arrives on November 24.
NASA's Daily Moon Guide tracker showed the Moon in its Waxing Crescent phase on Sunday, November 15, 2026, with 30% of its surface visible. The crescent was still filling out, which made it a good night for casual Moon gazing.
The moon phase moon look on that date offered something for naked-eye viewers and telescope owners alike.
What was visible on November 15
Without any equipment, observers could pick out the Mare Crisium and the Mare Fecunditatis. These are two of the dark plains on the lunar surface.
Binoculars or a small telescope added more. Viewers could then find the Endymion Crater, the Posidonius Crater and the Mare Nectaris.
Keen observers with a telescope could see all of that plus the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 landing spots.
When the next Full Moon arrives
The next Full Moon falls on Tuesday, November 24. Until then, the lit portion of the Moon keeps growing night by night.
How the Moon's phases work
The Moon takes about 29.5 days to complete one full cycle, according to NASA. As it orbits Earth, the share of its sunlit surface that we can see changes. That produces the familiar phases, from New Moon to Full Moon and back again.
The eight phases run in this order:
- New Moon: the Moon sits between Earth and the sun, so the side facing us is dark and invisible to the eye.
- Waxing Crescent: a small sliver of light appears on the right side in the Northern Hemisphere.
- First Quarter: half the Moon is lit on the right side, so it looks like a half-Moon.
- Waxing Gibbous: more than half is lit, but the Moon is not yet full.
- Full Moon: the whole face is illuminated and fully visible.
- Waning Gibbous: the Moon starts losing light on the right side in the Northern Hemisphere.
- Third Quarter (or Last Quarter): another half-Moon, now with the left side lit.
- Waning Crescent: a thin sliver of light remains on the left side before the Moon goes dark again.
The Moon was in the first stretch of that cycle on November 15. It had left the New Moon behind and was heading toward the First Quarter, then the Full Moon on November 24.
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