Conditions on this page are recalculated from the latest forecast every time it is opened, for the current date in the location's own time zone.
Counter-intuitively, full moon is rarely the best choice for detail — the lighting is flat and craters lose contrast. The best phases are first-quarter through gibbous (50–80% illumination), when shadows along the terminator line carve out crater rims and mountain ranges in 3D. For pure composition with landmarks, full moon still wins because the disc is bright enough to balance city or twilight foregrounds. For earthshine — the faint glow on the dark side of a crescent — choose a 5–25% slim crescent. A 0–100 score from a pure function with eight inputs: moon altitude, illumination percentage, cloud cover, humidity (transparency proxy), wind, temperature, Bortle dark-sky class and next-hour rain. The score starts at 60 and adjusts up or down depending on whether each factor helps or hurts the shot. Cloud cover and below-horizon moons can crash the score below 20 alone. Optimal phase, dark sky and dry air can push the score above 90. Because a moon you can't see is a moon you can't photograph. Above 60% cloud cover, the chance of even a 5-minute clear gap drops below 30% in most climates. The MoonShot Score weights cloud cover as the heaviest variable — a single 85% cloud reading takes –32 points off the score, more than any other input. For a frame-filling disc portrait, 600 mm minimum (800 mm ideal). For landmark composition (moon + skyline / mountain), 200–400 mm gives the telephoto compression that makes the disc look huge. For wide environmental shots with foreground, 50–135 mm works. The Decision Card above recommends a focal length tonight based on altitude and phase. Use PhotoPills or Sun Surveyor to calculate the exact moonrise azimuth and altitude weeks ahead. Find a vantage point 1–5 km from the foreground subject (skyscraper, mountain, tower) so telephoto compression makes the moon appear large relative to the landmark. Arrive 90 minutes early, scout multiple compositions, and shoot a bracket sequence as the disc clears the horizon — it changes colour from deep orange to white over 20 minutes. Depends entirely on your latitude and climate. Dry climates (Atacama, Sahara, Mauna Kea) deliver 80–95 clear-night frequency year-round. Temperate climates (UK, Pacific Northwest, Japan) peak in autumn (Oct–Nov) when cold air pushes humidity below 50% and high-pressure ridges deliver clearest skies. Tropical climates have a clear dry season — typically Nov–Apr in the southern hemisphere, Dec–Mar in the northern. For pure lunar disc shots — no. The moon is bright enough that light pollution barely affects detail. For moon + starfield context shots, yes — Bortle 1–3 sites (Atacama, Mauna Kea, NZ Dark Sky reserves) reveal the deep starfield around the disc that Bortle 7+ skies wash out entirely. The PlanMyMoonShoot wizard above scores Bortle as a factor. What forecast factor is the biggest predictor of a wasted moon-photography night? Cloud cover above 60% — full stop. Followed by humidity above 85% (dew on the front element ruins the shoot in 20 minutes), wind above 30 km/h (telephoto micro-shake), and below-horizon moon (often missed when shooters don't check moonrise times). The MoonShot Score weights all four heavily. Five things, in order: a sturdy tripod (3 kg+) with weight on the centre column; manual focus at 10× live-view on the terminator line (never autofocus); mirror lock-up (DSLR) or electronic shutter (mirrorless); 2-second self-timer or remote release; shutter speed of 1/500 s or faster to freeze atmospheric "seeing" turbulence. Crater sharpness is overwhelmingly a stability and atmospheric problem, not a lens problem. ISO 100–400 (the moon is bright — keep noise minimal). Aperture f/8–f/11 (most lenses are sharpest 2–3 stops down from wide-open). Shutter speed 1/250 s to 1/1000 s depending on focal length and atmospheric seeing. Start at ISO 200, f/8, 1/500 s on a 600 mm lens and adjust from there. The disc should look slightly over-exposed in live-view because the meter averages the dark sky around it. Not for normal moon photography — the moon moves 0.5° per 2 minutes, slow enough that 1/500 s shutter freezes it perfectly. A tracking mount only helps for very long exposures (5+ seconds) used in deep-sky stacking, which is irrelevant for the bright lunar disc.
Scores are capped by dealbreakers — heavy rain, dangerous wind, thick fog or hazardous UV pull a day down no matter how pleasant the rest of the numbers look. Forecast data is Open-Meteo; solar and lunar values are computed for Moon Photography Decision Guide's own coordinates and time zone. Full details on the methodology page.