Current Phase of the Moon Emoji (Copy and Paste Today’s Moon)
Right now you probably just want the emoji, not a lecture on orbits. Fair enough. Todays moon phase changes every few days, so grab the right one from the tool below and paste it wherever you need it. If you’re curious why one phsae looks different from the next, the rest of this page covers that.
What Is the Current Phase of the Moon Emoji Today?
| Emoji | Phase | Age (days) | Lit |
|---|
Tap any emoji in the table to copy it. Calculated from sun and moon positions, accurate to within a few hours.
The emoji in the tool is matched to the real moon phase for the date you pick. There are only eight possible answers, and the moon moves through them in a loop that lasts about a month. Because of that, the right emoji for the current moon phase is never the same for more than a few days in a row.
The tool shows the emoji, the name of the phase, the illuminated portion, and the age of the moon in days. That’s all you need to be sure you picked the correct emoji.
How Do You Copy and Paste the Moon Phase Emoji?
It takes about five seconds:
- Pick a date in the tool (it starts on today).
- Choose Northern or Southern Hemisphere.
- Tap “Copy emoji”.
- Paste with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. On a phone, press and hold in the text box and tap Paste.
If you don’t want to open the page every time, you can type “moon” into the emoji keyboard on your phone or press Windows + period on a PC. That brings up all the moon emojis in one list, but it won’t tell you which one is right for today. That part is what the tool is for.
Why Does the Moon Emoji Look Different in the Southern Hemisphere?
The moon is the same moon for everyone, but the lit side flips depending on where you stand. In the north, a growing crescent is lit on the right. In the south, it’s lit on the left. The standard emojis follow the northern view, so the crescent, quarter and gibbous shapes can look backwards if you live in Australia, South Africa or Brazil.
| Phase | Northern Hemisphere | Southern Hemisphere |
|---|---|---|
| Waxing crescent | 🌒 | 🌘 |
| First quarter | 🌓 | 🌗 |
| Waxing gibbous | 🌔 | 🌖 |
| Waning gibbous | 🌖 | 🌔 |
| Last quarter | 🌗 | 🌓 |
| Waning crescent | 🌘 | 🌒 |
New moon and full moon stay the same in both, because they’re symmetrical.
What Are All 8 Moon Phase Emojis and Their Meaning?
Each one has its own Unicode character, so they work on every phone, browser and app. The percentage is how much of the visible face is lit.
| Emoji | Phase | Unicode | Lit portion | Moon age (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌑 | New moon | U+1F311 | about 0% | 0 to 1.8 |
| 🌒 | Waxing crescent | U+1F312 | 1 to 49% | 1.9 to 7.3 |
| 🌓 | First quarter | U+1F313 | about 50% | 7.4 to 9.2 |
| 🌔 | Waxing gibbous | U+1F314 | 51 to 99% | 9.3 to 14.7 |
| 🌕 | Full moon | U+1F315 | about 100% | 14.8 to 16.6 |
| 🌖 | Waning gibbous | U+1F316 | 99 to 51% | 16.7 to 22.1 |
| 🌗 | Last quarter | U+1F317 | about 50% | 22.2 to 24.0 |
| 🌘 | Waning crescent | U+1F318 | 49 to 1% | 24.1 to 29.5 |
What Is a New Moon? 🌑
The moon sits between the Earth and the Sun, so the side facing us is dark. You can’t really see it in the sky. In texts and posts, the dark circle usually means a fresh start, a quiet moment, or the beginning of something.
What Is a Waxing Crescent Moon? 🌒
A thin curve of light shows up on the right as the moon moves away from the Sun. “Waxing” just means growing. People use this one for early progress, small wins, and anything that’s still taking shape.
What Is a First Quarter Moon? 🌓
Half the face is lit, even though the moon is only a quarter of the way around its orbit. That’s the part that confuses people. It’s about the path, not the brightness. As an emoji it tends to mean a halfway point or a decision.
What Is a Waxing Gibbous Moon? 🌔
More than half is lit and it keeps growing toward full. “Gibbous” means bulging, and the shape does look a bit swollen, or gibbious if you want to be playful about it. Use it for “almost there” moments.
What Is a Full Moon? 🌕
The Earth sits between the Sun and the Moon, so the whole visible face is lit. Full moons mattered a lot for old calendars, harvests and festivals, which is why the emoji still feels like a celebration or a high point.
What Is a Waning Gibbous Moon? 🌖
After the full moon, the light starts to shrink from the right side, but more than half is still showing. “Waning” means decreasing. It fits ideas like winding down, gratitude, and looking back.
What Is a Last Quarter Moon? 🌗
Half the face is lit again, but this time it’s the left side. It’s called the last quarter, or the third quarter, because the moon is about three quarters of the way through its trip. People use it for closing a chapter.
What Is a Waning Crescent Moon? 🌘
Only a thin sliver is left before the cycle starts over. It’s the quietest of the eight, and it usually stands for rest, endings, and letting go.
How Is the Real Moon Phase Calculated?
The moon takes about 29.53 days to go from one new moon to the next. That span is the lunar cycle. To find the phase, you work out how many days have passed since the last new moon (the moon age) and match it to one of the eight stages in the table above.
Our tool does it a bit differently. It compares the position of the Sun and the Moon in the sky and measures the angle between them. That angle tells you the illuminated portion directly, and the phase follows from it. For an emoji, it’s more than accurate enough.
How Accurate Is the Moon Phase Emoji?
Pretty accurate, but not perfect, and that’s mostly because eight icons can’t describe a smooth change. The moon goes from 0% to 100% lit and back with no sharp steps, so the emoji has to round things off.
A few reasons two sites might disagree by a day:
- The phase flips at a boundary, and one site may switch at midnight UTC while another uses your local time.
- Some calculators use a simple average cycle, while others use the true position.
- Days close to a quarter or a full moon sit right on the edge between two emojis.
If it really matters, check an astronomy site or a lunar calendar and copy the matching emoji from the tool.
What Do the Moon Face Emojis and Crescent Symbols Mean?
Beyond the eight phases, there’s a second group that people use for tone more than astronomy.
| Symbol | Name | What people use it for |
|---|---|---|
| 🌙 | Crescent moon | Goodnight, sleep, calm evenings |
| 🌚 | New moon face | Teasing, awkward jokes, being sneaky |
| 🌛 | First quarter face | Sleepy or dreamy messages |
| 🌜 | Last quarter face | Late night texts |
| 🌝 | Full moon face | Proud, smug or silly moments |
| ☽ | First quarter symbol | Text-style, shows up in charts and prints |
| ☾ | Last quarter symbol | Same as above, facing the other way |
The last two are plain text characters, so how they look depends on your font.
Can You Use Moon Phase Emojis for Photos and Captions?
Yes, and plenty of people do. Some add the phase to a journal entry so they can look back later. Others drop it into a bio or username. If you shoot the night sky, tagging a photo with the exact phase is a nice detail, and it helps when you’re trying to remember when you took it.
FAQs
How often does the moon emoji change?
About every three to seven days for the crescents and gibbous phases. The quarters and the full moon only last around a day.
Is 🌙 one of the eight phases?
No. It’s a decorative crescent and doesn’t match any real phase.
Why does the emoji look different on my phone?
Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft each draw their own version. The shape and the meaning stay the same, only the artwork changes.
What’s the difference between 🌒 and 🌘?
🌒 is growing and lit on the right (in the north). 🌘 is shrinking and lit on the left.
How long is one lunar cycle?
About 29.5 days from one new moon to the next.
Which emoji is the full moon?
🌕, the fully lit circle.
Does the date ever matter for the emoji?
Yes. It can occassionally shift by a day depending on the time zone, so check the date before you copy.
