Moon in Tampa Today — Waning Gibbous
Current lunar phase and 30-day moon calendar for Tampa, United States. Updated hourly.
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Tampa, United States — May 3, 2026
Waning Gibbous
96% illuminated · 16.7 days into cycle
Lunar Data for Tampa — Today
| Moonrise | 9:19 PM |
| Moonset | 7:52 AM |
| Phase | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| Illumination | 96% |
| Moon Age | 16.7 days into lunar cycle |
| Distance | 404,865 km |
🌕
Next Full Moon
May 30, 2026
Flower Moon
in 28 days
🌑
Next New Moon
May 15, 2026
in 13 days
Moon in Tampa — Did You Know?
- ·Tampa's large Cuban and Puerto Rican communities maintain Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean lunar traditions in the Ybor City neighborhood — once the 'Cigar Capital of the World' — including Santería moon ceremonies and the practice of cutting hair and planting herbs by lunar phase, customs that have been practiced in Tampa since the 1880s.
- ·Tampa Bay's geography gives moon observers a wide, low western horizon over the open bay and Gulf of Mexico: the setting full moon drops toward the water over the bay's smooth surface, creating a blazing path of reflection visible from the Courtney Campbell Causeway, a moon-watching vantage point beloved by Tampa residents.
- ·At latitude 28.0°N, Tampa sees the winter full moon climb to approximately 86° above the southern horizon — so close to the zenith that it appears nearly overhead at its peak — and the Gulf Coast's warm subtropical air often produces a striking amber lunar disc on clear nights, particularly when Atlantic moisture drifts inland across the bay.
30-Day Moon Phase Calendar — Tampa
| Date | Phase | Illumination |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 🌖Waning Gibbous | 96% |
| May 4 | 🌖Waning Gibbous | 91% |
| May 5 | 🌖Waning Gibbous | 84% |
| May 6 | 🌖Waning Gibbous | 75% |
| May 7 | 🌗Last Quarter | 66% |
| May 8 | 🌗Last Quarter | 55% |
| May 9 | 🌗Last Quarter | 45% |
| May 10 | 🌗Last Quarter | 34% |
| May 11 | 🌘Waning Crescent | 25% |
| May 12 | 🌘Waning Crescent | 16% |
| May 13 | 🌘Waning Crescent | 9% |
| May 14 | 🌘Waning Crescent | 4% |
| May 15 | 🌑New Moon | 1% |
| May 16 | 🌑New Moon | 0% |
| May 17 | 🌑New Moon | 1% |
| May 18 | 🌒Waxing Crescent | 5% |
| May 19 | 🌒Waxing Crescent | 11% |
| May 20 | 🌒Waxing Crescent | 18% |
| May 21 | 🌒Waxing Crescent | 27% |
| May 22 | 🌓First Quarter | 37% |
| May 23 | 🌓First Quarter | 47% |
| May 24 | 🌓First Quarter | 58% |
| May 25 | 🌓First Quarter | 68% |
| May 26 | 🌔Waxing Gibbous | 78% |
| May 27 | 🌔Waxing Gibbous | 86% |
| May 28 | 🌔Waxing Gibbous | 92% |
| May 29 | 🌕Full Moon | 97% |
| May 30 | 🌕Full Moon | 100% |
| May 31 | 🌕Full Moon | 100% |
| Jun 1 | 🌕Full Moon | 98% |
Related Pages — Tampa
Frequently Asked Questions
Tonight the moon in Tampa is in the Waning Gibbous phase. It is 96% illuminated and 16.7 days into the current lunar cycle. Moon phases are the same worldwide — only the exact local clock time of moonrise and moonset differs by location.
The next full moon occurs on May 30, 2026, which is 28 days from today. During a full moon the Moon is 100% illuminated as seen from Earth.
The next new moon occurs on May 15, 2026, in 13 days. The new moon marks the start of a fresh 29.5-day lunar cycle and is not visible in the night sky.
A lunar (synodic) cycle lasts approximately 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes — or 29.53 days. It runs from one new moon to the next, passing through 8 distinct phases: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, and Waning Crescent.
No — the moon phase (the fraction of the Moon illuminated) is the same everywhere on Earth at any given moment. However, moonrise and moonset times, as well as the moon's altitude in the sky, vary by location. The moon also appears upside-down in the Southern Hemisphere compared to the Northern Hemisphere.
The moon rises at approximately 9:19 PM local time in Tampa tonight. Moonrise shifts about 50 minutes later each night as the Moon moves eastward along its orbit, completing a full cycle roughly every 29.5 days.
The next full moon on May 30, 2026 is known as the Flower Moon. These traditional names — originating with Native American tribes and later adopted in the Farmer's Almanac — each reflect a seasonal event or natural phenomenon of that month visible from the Northern Hemisphere.
No — the Moon is currently at approximately 404,865 km, a typical orbital distance. A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the Moon being within roughly 360,000 km of Earth (near perigee). The Moon's distance varies between ~356,500 km (perigee) and ~406,700 km (apogee) over each ~27.3-day anomalistic month.
From Tampa at 28.0°N latitude, the full moon's maximum altitude above the horizon varies by season. In the local hemisphere's winter — when the full moon is opposite a low winter sun — it can reach roughly 86° above the horizon. In summer it arcs lower, around 39°. This seasonal variation is the same reason the sun is high in summer and low in winter.
The Moon's phase is identical everywhere on Earth simultaneously. However, its orientation in the sky differs by hemisphere: in the Northern Hemisphere the waxing crescent curves to the left; in the Southern Hemisphere it curves to the right. From Tampa at 28.0°N, the Moon arcs through the southern sky. Moonrise and moonset times also differ by longitude — a city 15° to the east sees the Moon rise roughly 1 hour earlier.
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