The sky on Saturday, December 19, 2026
| Sun in | Sagittarius |
|---|---|
| Moon in | Aries |
| Moon phase | Waxing Gibbous |
| Illumination | 73% |
| Ingresses | Moon enters Taurus |
| Exact aspects | Sun trine Jupiter |
| Mercury retrograde | No |
Sun and Jupiter stand about a hundred and twenty degrees apart today, a trine, traditionally read as the easiest of the major angles. The Moon is in Aries, more than half lit and still filling out.
What is a waxing gibbous moon?
A waxing gibbous moon is the stage between half and full, when the Moon is more than half lit and still brightening.
Illumination runs from about fifty to nearly one hundred percent, and the Moon is high in the sky for most of the evening. It is the easiest phase to photograph badly and the best one for seeing craters near the terminator line.
Read as a stage, this is refinement: the thing exists, it is nearly visible to other people, and most of what is left is adjustment rather than invention.
It is a good moment to ask what you would change if you had to show it tomorrow, and then to change only that.