Last Quarter
- Rise
- 01:13
- Set
- 11:45
Moon Phases February 2016 in Basel, Switzerland
Basel, Basel-City, Switzerland
Daily moon phases, illumination, moonrise and moonset for Basel, in local time (Europe/Zurich). Next full moon: Snow Moon on Monday, February 22.
Basel · Monday, February 1, 2016 Today
Last Quarter
- Illumination
- 47.2%
- Moon age
- 22.4 days
- Distance
- 401,786 km
- Moonrise
- 01:13
- Moonset
- 11:45
- Highest
- 06:32
Last Quarter at 04:27. Next: New Moon on Mon, Feb 8 at 15:38. Snow Moon in 21 days.
At last quarter, also called third quarter, the Moon has completed three quarters of its orbit and again shows a half disc, now lit on the opposite side from first quarter.
Click any day in the calendar or pick a date above to see its details here.
February 2016 calendar
Waning Crescent
38%
- Rise
- 02:12
- Set
- 12:18
Waning Crescent
28%
- Rise
- 03:11
- Set
- 12:56
Waning Crescent
20%
- Rise
- 04:08
- Set
- 13:41
Waning Crescent
12%
- Rise
- 05:03
- Set
- 14:33
Waning Crescent
6%
- Rise
- 05:55
- Set
- 15:32
Waning Crescent
2%
- Rise
- 06:41
- Set
- 16:39
New Moon
- Rise
- 07:23
- Set
- 17:50
Waxing Crescent
1%
- Rise
- 08:01
- Set
- 19:04
Waxing Crescent
5%
- Rise
- 08:35
- Set
- 20:19
Waxing Crescent
11%
- Rise
- 09:08
- Set
- 21:35
Waxing Crescent
19%
- Rise
- 09:41
- Set
- 22:50
Waxing Crescent
29%
- Rise
- 10:14
- Set
- —
Waxing Crescent
40%
- Rise
- 10:49
- Set
- 00:03
First Quarter
- Rise
- 11:29
- Set
- 01:15
Waxing Gibbous
63%
- Rise
- 12:12
- Set
- 02:22
Waxing Gibbous
73%
- Rise
- 13:01
- Set
- 03:25
Waxing Gibbous
82%
- Rise
- 13:55
- Set
- 04:21
Waxing Gibbous
89%
- Rise
- 14:54
- Set
- 05:11
Waxing Gibbous
95%
- Rise
- 15:55
- Set
- 05:54
Waxing Gibbous
98%
- Rise
- 16:57
- Set
- 06:31
Snow Moon
- Rise
- 17:59
- Set
- 07:03
Waning Gibbous
100%
- Rise
- 19:01
- Set
- 07:32
Waning Gibbous
97%
- Rise
- 20:02
- Set
- 07:59
Waning Gibbous
93%
- Rise
- 21:02
- Set
- 08:25
Waning Gibbous
88%
- Rise
- 22:02
- Set
- 08:51
Waning Gibbous
81%
- Rise
- 23:01
- Set
- 09:17
Waning Gibbous
73%
- Rise
- —
- Set
- 09:46
Waning Gibbous
65%
- Rise
- 00:00
- Set
- 10:17
Times are local to Basel (Europe/Zurich). A dash means the moon does not rise or set on that date.
Moon phases in February 2016
| Phase | Local date and time | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Last Quarter | Mon, Feb 1 at 04:27 | Feb 1, 03:27 |
| New Moon | Mon, Feb 8 at 15:38 | Feb 8, 14:38 |
| First Quarter | Mon, Feb 15 at 08:46 | Feb 15, 07:46 |
| Full Moon · Snow Moon | Mon, Feb 22 at 19:19 | Feb 22, 18:19 |
About the Last Quarter
At last quarter, also called third quarter, the Moon has completed three quarters of its orbit and again shows a half disc, now lit on the opposite side from first quarter. It rises around midnight, is highest at sunrise and sets around midday, so it belongs to the morning sky and is often seen in daylight before noon.
The terminator again brings craters into sharp relief for anyone up before dawn.
Lore and folklore
The last quarter was the old almanac's time for rest and reflection: good for harvesting, drying and storing, mending fences and turning compost, but not for sowing. Weather lore watched the last quarter for signs of the coming month.
In some traditions the morning half moon was a reminder that the month was ending and debts and quarrels should be settled before the dark of the moon.
Trivia
- The last quarter Moon leads the Sun by 90 degrees, so it is due south (or north from the southern hemisphere) at sunrise.
- Several Moon missions launched near last quarter so the lighting at the landing site would be favourable a week later.
- From the southern hemisphere the last quarter is lit on the right, the mirror image of the northern view.
- Half of the Moon is always sunlit; a quarter moon simply shows us half of that half.
Select any day in the calendar to read about its phase.
This month's full moon: the Snow Moon
February typically brings the heaviest snowfall in North America, and the full moon took its name from it.
Some tribes called it the Hunger Moon because deep snow made hunting hard and stores ran low. The Storm Moon and Bone Moon appear in other traditions for the same reason.
Lore
The Snow Moon marked the hungriest stretch of the year for northern peoples, when stores ran low and hunting was hard in deep snow; the Hunger Moon name says it plainly. In Chinese tradition the first full moon of the lunar year, often in February, is the Lantern Festival that closes the New Year celebrations.
Trivia
- Because February is short, some years have no full moon in February at all; the next is 2037.
- A February Blue Moon is impossible for the same reason.
- The Snow Moon rises far to the north-east and sets far to the north-west, tracing a long, high arc.
Gardening by the Moon in February 2016
- Feb 1 to Feb 8 · Rest and tend: Rest days for the soil: weed, cultivate, turn compost, harvest crops for storage, prune to discourage regrowth, prepare beds. Avoid sowing.
- Feb 9 to Feb 14 · Leafy crops: Sow leafy crops and above-ground annuals whose seeds form outside the fruit: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, celery, herbs. Transplant seedlings. Mow to encourage growth.
- Feb 15 to Feb 22 · Fruiting crops: Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns.
- Feb 23 to Feb 29 · Root crops: Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth.
Full planting calendar for February › · How gardening by the moon works
How to read this moon calendar
Each day shows the Moon as it looks from Basel at midday local time, with the illuminated percentage, moonrise and moonset. Days with a principal phase show the exact local time the phase occurs. Because the Moon moves about 50 minutes later each day, roughly once a month there is a date with no moonrise or no moonset at all.
The eight phases of the Moon
New Moon
The Moon sits between Earth and the Sun. Its lit side faces away from us, so it is invisible in the night sky. A new lunar month begins.
Waxing Crescent
A thin sliver grows each evening after sunset. Look low in the west shortly after dusk.
First Quarter
Half the disc is lit. The Moon rises around midday and sets around midnight, so it is high in the sky at sunset.
Waxing Gibbous
More than half lit and growing. It rises in the afternoon and shines most of the night.
Full Moon
The whole face is lit. It rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Each full moon carries a traditional name.
Waning Gibbous
The lit portion shrinks. It rises after sunset and is still up in the morning sky.
Last Quarter
Half lit again, on the opposite side. It rises around midnight and is best seen in the early morning.
Waning Crescent
A thinning sliver before dawn in the east, fading toward the next new moon.