Moon Phase Today Mobile

Moon Phase Today Mobile: New Moon

On Friday, October 9, 2026, the moon in Mobile is a New Moon with 0% illumination. Moon age: 28.9 days.

Illumination
0%
Moon Age
28.9d
Next Full Moon
Oct 25
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
5:55 AM
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
5:55 PM

moon-over-mobile-alabama

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Mobile, AL

Mobile sits at the head of Mobile Bay in southwestern Alabama, covering about 180.07 sq mi, with roughly 139.48 sq mi of land and extensive low-lying areas around its downtown waterfront. Elevation runs from about 10 feet on Water Street to about 211 feet at Mobile Regional Airport, so the best local viewpoints come from open water, waterfront parks, and downtown squares rather than any real overlook. The date and your observing location together determine the moon's rise time and direction; your viewpoint determines how much of that horizon is actually unobstructed. Here are six Mobile locations that offer different ways to experience or photograph the moon.

1

Cooper Riverside Park

A three-acre downtown waterfront park along the Mobile River, adjacent to the Convention Center and the GulfQuest Museum, with paved walking areas, greenery, and public art. Views across the river toward passing ships make it a good spot for a moon-and-ship-traffic composition. Check current hours before a late visit. Address: 101 S Water St.

2

Battleship Memorial Park

A prominent position on Mobile Bay with broad bay views from its grounds, home to the historic USS Alabama battleship, about 42,500 tons fully loaded. This is a ticketed attraction with current hours of 8 a.m.–5 p.m., last ticket at 4 p.m., and a $5 park entry for the grounds and bayside picnic area — it suits a daytime or early visit rather than an actual moonrise. Address: 2703 Battleship Pkwy.

3

Bienville Square

A historic city park in the center of downtown Mobile, with open sky pockets suitable for moon-over-downtown compositions. Check current hours before a late visit. Address: 150 Dauphin St.

4

Mardi Gras Park

A municipal park bounded by Government, Royal, Church, and St. Emanuel Streets, opened in November 2016 on the site of the old Mobile County Courthouse. Statues of Mardi Gras royalty, jesters, and Joe Cain provide foreground subjects for moon-over-city compositions. Check current hours before a late visit. Address: Government and Royal Streets.

5

Spanish Plaza

A small downtown public space useful for moon-over-architecture compositions. Check current hours before a late visit. Address: 401 Government St.

6

Cathedral Square

A public square associated with the former Campo Santo cemetery, a small downtown space for architecture compositions. Check current hours before a late visit. Address: 300 Conti St.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography

🌕 Full Moon ±1 day — generally rises near sunset and sets near sunrise, though the exact azimuth depends on your spot
🌔 Days before full — a waxing gibbous moon is often useful for blue hour, with the foreground still lit
🌑 New Moon — astronomically favorable for dark skies, but central Mobile's parks and riverfront are not dark-sky locations
🧭 Landmark alignments — the moon generally rises somewhere along the eastern half of the horizon, but its exact rising azimuth shifts substantially with the date and your latitude, so check the exact date and viewpoint rather than assuming it will rise due east

📷 Quick Photography Tips

🎯Use a sturdy tripod for riverfront and bayfront landscapes — it helps with bracketing and blue-hour exposures
📷Shoot RAW and bracket — the moon is much brighter than the waterfront lights and surrounding city
📏Looney 11 rule — a useful starting point for a bright full moon: f/11, ISO 100, 1/100s, then check your histogram. Humidity and haze over the bay can reduce contrast, so adjust for conditions and your equipment
🌕Low on the horizon, the moon can look strikingly large — that's the well-known "moon illusion," a perceptual effect rather than an actual change in angular size. A telephoto lens doesn't make the moon physically larger or change its angular size relative to the foreground; instead, a long lens lets you tightly frame a distant moon and a distant foreground together, and moving farther from that foreground can make the moon appear larger relative to it in the resulting composition
🚢A 200–400mm lens can isolate the moon over the battleship, the skyline, or passing ship traffic
🌧️Check the forecast for cloud, haze, humidity, and visibility — Gulf Coast conditions can change quickly
🕐 Timezone

Mobile runs on Central Time — CST (UTC−6) in winter and CDT (UTC−5) in summer, following the standard U.S. daylight saving schedule. PhotoPills or Stellarium will handle the moon's exact rise azimuth for any of these spots automatically, as long as your device's clock is correct.

Enjoy the moon over Mobile — a riverfront park, a historic battleship on the bay, and a Mardi Gras park built on an old courthouse site all sharing the same lunar glow.

The moon phase today in Mobile, Alabama is shown in detail above — complete with exact illumination percentage, moonrise/set times, and the best local spots to see it. For the moon phase today in any other city worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the home page.

◐ What the Experience Actually Feels Like

At Cooper Riverside Park, paved walking areas and public art frame views across the Mobile River, with passing ships giving the water a moving foreground. It's an easy, central place to catch the moon over a working waterfront.

From Battleship Memorial Park, the historic USS Alabama provides a distinctive foreground against views across Mobile Bay toward the city. It's the most dramatic backdrop on this list, though its ticketed daytime hours mean it's better planned around than counted on for a late moonrise.

In Mardi Gras Park, statues of royalty and jesters provide foreground subjects with downtown buildings beyond, a more urban, architectural framing than the open water at the river and bay.

"Mobile combines riverfront, bayfront, and downtown settings for moon photography — ships, a battleship, and city architecture all within a short drive of each other."

✓ Your Mobile Moon Chase Checklist

Before You Go

  • Check the moonrise time and rise azimuth for your date — the date and your observing location together determine the moon's rise time and direction, while your viewpoint determines how much of that horizon is unobstructed
  • Verify Site Access: Battleship Memorial Park is ticketed, open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. with last ticket at 4 p.m. and a $5 park entry — check current hours at the downtown parks and plazas before planning a late visit
  • Use PhotoPills or Stellarium to check whether the moon will align with a specific landmark on your date
  • Check the forecast for cloud, haze, and humidity, and for tropical weather during hurricane season (June–November)
  • Confirm current rules on tripods and photography at your chosen venue, especially for anything beyond personal use

What to Bring

  • A telephoto lens, often 200mm or longer, for the battleship, skyline, or ship traffic, plus a wide lens for river and skyline scenes
  • A lens cloth for dew and sea spray
  • A light jacket for bay breezes
  • A remote shutter release or a 2-second timer to avoid shake on tripod shots
  • Spare batteries, particularly for long sessions or extended time outdoors

On the Night

  • As a general recommendation, arrive at your viewpoint at least 30–45 minutes early, especially for blue-hour shots
  • Focus manually on the moon's surface detail using magnified live view — waterfront and downtown lighting can confuse autofocus at dusk
  • Bracket your exposures — one for the bright lunar disc, one for the darker river, bay, or city below
  • If the moon looks soft or hazy right at moonrise, consider waiting until it climbs higher above the horizon, when atmospheric effects are often less pronounced
  • Stay on paths, respect ticketed access, and plan to be back at your vehicle before your chosen venue's posted closing time
The moon over Mobile moves between three very different stages — the working river, the open bay, and the architecture of downtown squares. Use the tools on this page, pick your vantage point, and catch a Mobile moonrise for yourself.

? Mobile Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Mobile, Alabama?

The moon phase today in Mobile is a New Moon with 0% illumination. The next full moon is in 17 days, on Oct 25. Moonrise is at 5:55 AM and moonset at 5:55 PM.

Q. Where is the best place to view the moon in Mobile?

Mobile sits at the head of Mobile Bay with extensive low-lying areas around its downtown waterfront, so the best views come from open water and downtown squares rather than any real overlook. Cooper Riverside Park, a three-acre downtown park along the Mobile River, looks across the water toward passing ships. Battleship Memorial Park on Mobile Bay gives broad bay views with the historic USS Alabama as a foreground, though it is a ticketed daytime attraction. Downtown, Bienville Square, Mardi Gras Park, Spanish Plaza and Cathedral Square are good for moon-over-architecture and moon-over-city compositions.

Q. Where does the moon rise and set in Mobile, and how high does it climb?

At about 30.7°N, Mobile's moonrise and moonset points swing across the horizon each month, from roughly northeast to southeast for rising and northwest to southwest for setting. A winter full moon climbs very high in the south, to roughly 83° above the horizon and nearly overhead, while a summer full moon stays lower, peaking near 36°. Elevation runs from about 10 feet on Water Street to about 211 feet at Mobile Regional Airport, so open water gives the lowest, widest horizon while downtown buildings are the main obstruction in the squares. Battleship Memorial Park's views run across the bay toward the city, which generally means a rising moon is behind you there. Check the azimuth for your date and exact viewpoint.

Q. Is light pollution a problem for moon observing in Mobile?

The moon is bright enough to observe and photograph from almost anywhere in Mobile, so light pollution rarely limits the lunar disc itself. It does wash out earthshine on a thin crescent and any faint sky detail. Central Mobile's parks and riverfront are not dark-sky locations, so a new moon is astronomically favorable but not practical for dark skies here. Waterfront and downtown lighting can also confuse autofocus at dusk, so focus manually on the moon's surface detail using magnified live view.

Q. What camera settings and phases work best for moon photography in Mobile?

For a full moon, start with Looney 11 (f/11, ISO 100, 1/100 s) and refine using your histogram, since it is a baseline rather than a guarantee. The moon is much brighter than the waterfront lights and surrounding city, so shoot RAW and bracket to keep both crater detail and the foreground. A full moon generally rises near sunset, and a waxing gibbous moon is often useful for blue hour with the foreground still lit. A 200–400 mm lens can isolate the moon over the battleship, the skyline or passing ship traffic, and a tripod helps for bracketing. Humidity and haze over the bay can reduce contrast.

Q. How do Gulf Coast humidity, haze and tropical weather affect moon viewing in Mobile?

Humidity and haze over the bay can reduce contrast, so check the forecast for cloud, haze, humidity and visibility, since Gulf Coast conditions can change quickly. Bring a lens cloth for dew and sea spray, and a light jacket for bay breezes. During hurricane season, from June through November, also check the forecast for tropical weather before planning an evening shoot.

Q. Can I visit Mobile's moon viewpoints after dark?

Access varies by site. Battleship Memorial Park is a ticketed attraction with current hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., last ticket at 4 p.m., and a $5 park entry for the grounds and bayside picnic area, so it suits a daytime or early visit rather than a moonrise. Public parks are generally sunrise to sunset and lighting varies by location, so check current hours at Cooper Riverside Park, Bienville Square, Mardi Gras Park, Spanish Plaza and Cathedral Square before a late visit. Stay on paths and respect ticketed access.