{"id":2045860,"date":"2026-07-16T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2045860"},"modified":"2026-07-16T04:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T01:00:00","slug":"moon-phase-today-explained-what-the-moon-will-look-like-on-july-16-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2045860","title":{"rendered":"Moon phase today explained: What the Moon will look like on July 16, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/074lYbOlH4MYNqnBMDSoNOq\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1783936315.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Home<\/a>><\/span>Science<\/a>><\/span>Space<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on July 16<\/h1>\n
The Moon is starting to reappear.<\/div>\n
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\n \u00a0By\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lois Mackenzie<\/a><\/p>\n
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\"Mashable<\/p>\n
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Lois Mackenzie<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n Lois Mackenzie is a freelance reporter at Mashable. Over the years she has written for many publications, covering everything from the local news to the best pair of running shoes. You can find bylines in publications including Fit&Well, Metro, and Coach magazine, usually covering deals on everything from earbuds to TVs, or guides on how to beat your half marathon time.\n <\/div>\n

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Credit: Photo by Omer Tarsuslu\/Anadolu via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Moon is starting to reappear on its right side (this will be the left side if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere). This means we’re in the Waxing Crescent portion of the lunar cycle.<\/p>\n

What is today\u2019s Moon phase?<\/h2>\n

As of Thursday, July 16, NASA’s Daily Moon Guide<\/a> tracker tells us the Moon<\/a> phase is in Waxing Crescent phase, with just 5% of its surface visible. <\/p>\n

Even with visual aids, this is too small a surface area illuminated for us to be able to make out any surface features on the Moon.<\/p>\n

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When is the next Full Moon?<\/h2>\n

The next Full Moon will take place on July 29.<\/p>\n

What are Moon phases?<\/h2>\n

The Moon completes one full cycle around Earth in about 29.5 days, moving through eight different phases along the way, NASA<\/a> explains. Although the same side of the Moon always faces our planet, the amount of sunlight reflecting off its surface changes as it travels around Earth. This changing angle of illumination is what makes the Moon appear to transform throughout the month, from a thin crescent to a half-lit Moon and eventually a fully illuminated Full Moon, before starting the cycle again.<\/p>\n

New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).<\/p>\n

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Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).<\/p>\n

First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.<\/p>\n

Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it\u2019s not quite full yet.<\/p>\n

Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.<\/p>\n

Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)<\/p>\n

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.<\/p>\n

Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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\"Mashable<\/p>\n
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Lois Mackenzie<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lois Mackenzie is a freelance reporter at Mashable. Over the years she has written for many publications, covering everything from the local news to the best pair of running shoes. You can find bylines in publications including Fit&Well, Metro, and Coach magazine, usually covering deals on everything from earbuds to TVs, or guides on how to beat your half marathon time.<\/p>\n

Lois also holds a Master’s degree in Digital Journalism from Strathclyde University and obtained a Master of Arts in English Literature at the University of Aberdeen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\"Mashable<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/mashable.com\/science\/moon-phase-today-july-16-2026″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/074lYbOlH4MYNqnBMDSoNOq\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1783936315.jpg”] Home>Science>Space Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on July 16 The Moon is starting to reappear. \u00a0By\u00a0 Lois Mackenzie Lois Mackenzie Lois Mackenzie is a freelance reporter at Mashable. Over the years she has written for many publications, covering everything from the local news to the best pair of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,75],"class_list":["post-2045860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-mashable-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2045860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045860\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2045860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2045860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2045860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}