The full moon, opposite the sun in its orbit, shows us its sunlit side. The moon appears full a couple of days before and after the exact moment of full moon.
There's a full Blue Moon overnight on May 30-31, 2026. A Blue Moon is the 2nd of 2 full moons in a calendar month or the 3rd of 4 full moons in a single season.
By this definition, Blood Moon is a member of a special kind of lunar tetrad : four total lunar eclipses in a row. Now it's used for any total lunar eclipse.
A waning crescent moon can be found in the east before sunrise. It's waning toward new moon, that's when the moon will be between the Earth and the sun.
The first quarter moon is halfway between new and full moon. Half of the moon is illuminated and it's a quarter of the way through it's orbit around the Earth.
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky's website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She's the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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