The moon is half lit up tonight, which means a lot of things. Namely, we're in a new lunar cycle.

The lunar cycle is a series of eight unique phases of the moon's visibility. The whole cycle takes about 29.5 days, according to NASA , and these different phases happen as the Sun lights up different parts of the moon whilst it orbits Earth.

So, what's happening with the moon tonight, Aug. 16?

What is today’s moon phase?

As of Saturday, Aug. 16, the moon phase is Third Quarter (also known as the Last Quarter) and it is 46% lit up to us on Earth, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation .

From this point onwards, the moon will be less and less visible, as we're now on day 23 of the lunar cycle. But there's still plenty to spot on the moon's surface, if you look hard enough. With y

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