Lunar Phases Study

The Lunar Phases Study generates an event each time the Moon makes a user-selected cycle angle to the Sun. The study covers the four primary phases (New, First Quarter, Full, Last Quarter) and four octant phases (45°, 135°, 225°, 315°). Each event includes rich Moon data such as illumination percent, apparent diameter, apparent magnitude, Moon Type (e.g., Supermoon), and Moon Name (e.g., Wolf Moon).

Create a Lunar Phases Study

To add a new Lunar Phases Study to the active workspace:

1. Click Mundane Studies on the menu bar.
2. Click Aspects, then click Lunar Phases in the submenu.

tip

You can also create a Lunar Phases Study from the toolbar by clicking the Aspect Studies drop-down button and selecting Lunar Phases.

Events Captured

A Lunar Phases event occurs each time the Moon makes a cycle angle of 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, or 315° to the Sun. The study lets you filter the captured phases using the Selectable Moon Phases List, and reports detailed data about the Moon at the moment of each phase, including the traditional name when one applies (Wolf Moon, Harvest Moon, etc.) and the Moon Type classifier (Supermoon, Micromoon, etc.).

Events Table Columns

The events table for a Lunar Phases Study contains the following columns:

Column	Description
Date Time	Date and time of the lunar phase event.
Moon Longitude	Ecliptic longitude (or right ascension) of the Moon.
Moon Sign	Zodiac sign (with degrees) of the Moon.
Moon Latitude	Ecliptic latitude (or declination) of the Moon.
Moon Distance	Distance of the Moon from the coordinate origin.
Moon Speed	Daily motion of the Moon.
Cycle Angle	Sun-Moon cycle angle (0=new, 90=first quarter, 180=full, 270=last quarter).
Phase	Lunar phase name derived from the Sun-Moon cycle angle: New Moon (0°), Waxing Crescent (45°), First Quarter (90°), Waxing Gibbous (135°), Full Moon (180°), Waning Gibbous (225°), Last Quarter (270°), or Waning Crescent (315°).
Separation	Angular separation from the exact phase angle.
Sun Longitude	Ecliptic longitude (or right ascension) of the Sun.
Sun Sign	Zodiac sign (with degrees) of the Sun.
Sun Latitude	Ecliptic latitude (or declination) of the Sun.
Sun Distance	Distance of the Sun from the coordinate origin.
Sun Speed	Daily motion of the Sun.
Illum %	Illuminated fraction of the Moon's disk as a percentage.
Apparent Diameter	Apparent angular diameter of the Moon at the event.
Apparent Magnitude	Apparent magnitude (brightness) of the Moon.
Moon Type	Moon type classifier (e.g., supermoon, micromoon).
Moon Name	Traditional or cultural name of the moon (e.g., Wolf Moon, Harvest Moon).
Event Interval	Time interval since the previous lunar phase event.