Lunar globe
Lunar disc with exact phase, solar terminator (line between illuminated and dark hemisphere) and optical libration in longitude and latitude. Selenographic North on top, East on the left (astronomical convention).
Phase data
| Date UTC: | 2026-05-01 08:16:16 |
| Phase: | Full Moon |
| Illumination: | 99.720% |
| Lunar age: | 14.417 days |
| Phase angle: | 6.0693° |
| Bright Limb PA: | 243.9208° |
| Libration in longitude: | 3.494° |
| Libration in latitude: | -4.344° |
| Solar colongitude: | 265.750° |
What you are seeing
The terminator is the line that separates the illuminated from the dark hemisphere on the lunar surface. It is where the Sun is rising (waxing side) or setting (waning side). For telescope observation, it is the region of greatest contrast and detail — long shadows reveal craters.
Libration is what makes the Moon "rock" slightly throughout the month, allowing us to see up to 59% of the surface over time (despite synchronous rotation). It has components in longitude (due to non-uniform orbital speed, by Kepler law) and in latitude (due to the lunar axial tilt of ~6.7°).
The red cross indicates the lunar sub-Earth point (apparent center) shifted by libration — the further from the geometric center, the more "rotated" the Moon appears as seen from Earth at that moment.
Computed via ELP-2000/82B + IAU 2000A. See precision and glossary for detailed definitions.