20 July 1969
Waxing Crescent, 33% lit
Apollo 11 lands on the Moon
When Eagle touched down in the Sea of Tranquility, the Moon seen from Earth was a waxing crescent about a third lit.
It landed at 4:17pm Eastern Daylight Time, 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong's first step came at 10:56pm EDT. The waxing Moon was a choice: launch times were picked so the Sun would stand only 5 to 13 degrees above the landing site, low enough for shadows to show the shape of the ground and not so low that long shadows hid it. Seen from Earth that same geometry is a crescent, with Tranquility close to the line between day and night.
- Date
- 20 July 1969
- Local time
- 20:17, UTC
- Phase
- Waxing Crescent
- Illuminated
- 33%
Source: NASA, July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind (opens in a new tab)
- Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal, Mission Summary (NASA) (opens in a new tab) for the 5 to 13 degree Sun elevation chosen for landing, and why