slide 1 - Time-lapse video of the ocean tide coming onto a beach.

How the Moon Affects Earth's Oceans

From hundreds of thousands of miles away, the Moon is part of your day at the beach. Here’s how. Video: Tides rise and fall in Acadia National Park. Credit: National Park Service More ›

slide 2 - Illustration with question marks and a thinking emoji over the moon surface

Lunar Photography Guide

Whether you have a phone or a professional camera, here’s how to take great Moon photos.
Photo credit: Bill Dunford

Explore the Moon

Earth’s ocean tides result from an intricate dance of forces and motions. The Moon plays a starring role.

Tides

Like Earth, the Moon has a day side and a night side, which change as the Moon rotates.

Moon Phases

Between four and seven times a year, Earth, Moon and Sun line up just right to create the cosmic-scale shadow show known as an eclipse.

Composite of lunar eclipse phases over night sky

Eclipses

When the full moon is a little bit closer to us than usual, it appears especially large and bright in the sky.

A supermoon partially obscured by treeline in the foreground.

Supermoons

Why can I see the Moon during the day? And other frequently asked questions about our Moon.

Featured Image

Impact Evidence at Chaplygin B Crater

When a space object slams into the lunar surface, immense energy is released. Patterns found at young impact crater sites, like Chaplygin B, help us to understand the physics of these powerful events.

Moon Phase and Libration, 2021

Animation showing the geocentric phase, libration, position angle of the axis, and apparent diameter of the Moon throughout the year 2021, at hourly intervals.

What the Moon will look like from Earth, every hour of every day of 2021.

News from NASA

The Importance of Surface Shadows in Moon Water Puzzle

We’ve long known that water exists in some of the Moon's dark craters, but the 2020 discovery of water on the sunny, daylit parts of the Moon presented a puzzle. A new study provides an explanation: shadows from the Moon’s rugged terrain.
NASA Identifies Likely Locations of the Early Molten Moon's Deep Secrets

Scientists have identified likely locations for our Artemis missions to find and collect pieces of the Moon’s mantle. The precious rocks born deep within the Moon can help us understand how our Moon and other rocky worlds evolved.
Public Names ‘Moonikin' Flying Around Moon on NASA's Artemis I Mission

The public voted on names for a test manikin that will fly to the Moon on the first Artemis Mission. And we have a winner!