The moon graphic is a phase display, not a decorative image that should always show a full moon. It changes with the date. The homepage’s digital clocks and the Space Classic and World View watches show moon information; Clock details provides more context.
Read the shape and label together
A crescent has a smaller lit portion than a quarter moon; a gibbous moon has a larger lit portion. “Waxing” means the illuminated portion is increasing toward full moon, while “waning” means it is decreasing afterward. A first- or last-quarter moon looks roughly half lit: the word quarter refers to its place in the phase cycle, not a quarter of the visible disk.
The graphic is a simplified diagram. It is not a live telescope image or a map of the moon’s position above your house. Use the text label if the small graphic is difficult to distinguish on your chosen face.
Why the city matters
The broad phase at a given moment is shared around Earth. Location matters for moonrise, moonset, the local calendar date, and how the lit portion appears oriented to an observer. Selecting another city should not make the moon arbitrarily change from new to full.
AlarmClock.live uses the selected weather city as the location context for its moon request. The diagram accounts for hemisphere in a simplified way, but it is not a precise simulation of the moon’s tilt at every moment. To change the place, open Weather · Change city and select the result you want.
Inspect the details before comparing
Open Clock details and confirm the place and date. If you compare against another source, use the same location and local date, especially near midnight or when looking at a faraway time zone. Moonrise and moonset are local events and may not both fall within every calendar day.
The site retrieves astronomical data through MET Norway’s Sunrise API. A provider outage, a failed request, or missing location information can temporarily prevent the details from appearing. A question-mark diagram or “MOON —” means data is unavailable; it does not mean new moon.
Use it as context for your desk
The phase display is a useful reminder of the lunar cycle alongside your clock, weather, and date. It is not a schedule for sleep, health decisions, or guaranteed viewing conditions. Clouds and daylight can prevent a view even when the phase diagram looks bright.
For a clearer display, try another face or fullscreen. The desk-clock guide covers that setup, and the city guide explains location and unit preferences.
Sources and further reading
These sources explain the underlying browser or data behavior. The setup examples above describe AlarmClock.live.
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