Waning Gibbous Moon
This intermediate Moon phase starts after the Full Moon and lasts until half of the Moon’s face remains lit up at the Third Quarter.
During the Waning Gibbous phase, the Moon shrinks from Full to Half Moon.
©iStockphoto.com/leospek
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Next Waning Gibbous Moon
Starts: Jan 13, 2025 at 5:26 pm
Ends: Jan 21, 2025 at 3:30 pm
Times for the Waning Gibbous Moon vary by time zone. Times and dates are based on the local time in Columbus. Change location
With some exceptions, the Waning Gibbous Moon rises after sunset but before midnight and doesn’t set until after sunrise.
A Waning Moon Shrinks
The Waning Gibbous phase is when the lit-up part of the Moon’s face shrinks from about 100% to 50%. It starts just after Full Moon and lasts until the Third Quarter Moon.
Waning means that it is shrinking and getting smaller, while gibbous refers to the oval-to-round shape.
It can be challenging to differentiate the first stage of Waning Gibbous from a Full Moon when 98%-99% of the surface facing Earth is illuminated.
Sun Lights Up the Moon
The Moon’s surface reflects the Sun’s rays, and half of it is always illuminated by sunlight. Just how much of that light we can see from Earth varies every day, and we refer to this as a Moon phase.
The Moon: Our natural satellite
A Waning Gibbous Moon is often visible in the morning daytime sky.
©iStockphoto.com/Greenseas
Looks Different Around the Globe
The Moon phases are the same all over the world, both in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The same percentage and area of the Moon will be lit up no matter where on Earth you are.
The orientation of the Waning Gibbous Moon depends on the time, the date, your location, and the Moon’s position in the sky. Exactly where the lit up part of the Moon appears—the top, bottom, or the side—also depends on how high the Moon is in the sky.
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It takes around 29.5 days to move through the eight Moon phases.
©timeanddate.com
Lunar Month: A Repeating Moon Cycle
In western culture, we divide the lunar month into four primary and four intermediate Moon phases.
The Moon phases start with the invisible New Moon. The first visible Moon phase is the thin sliver of a Waxing Crescent Moon. Around a week later, half of the Moon’s visible surface is illuminated at First Quarter Moon.
The illuminated part continues to grow into a Waxing Gibbous Moon, until 14 to 15 days into the cycle, we see the entire face of the Moon lit up at Full Moon.
The illuminated part then gradually shrinks into a Waning Gibbous Moon, and when it reaches the Third Quarter, the opposite half from the First Quarter is illuminated. From there, it fades into a Waning Crescent Moon. Finally, the Moon disappears entirely from view into another New Moon phase, only to reemerge and repeat this cycle.
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No Gibbous Moon in Calendars
There is no symbol for the Waning Gibbous Moon in calendars as it is an intermediate Moon phase. Only the four primary phases are shown in calendars with the following symbols:
= New Moon 
= First Quarter 
= Full Moon 
= Third Quarter
The Moon illustration on our Moon phase pages changes as time passes and indicates more accurately, although not perfectly, the orientation of the illuminated part of the Moon.