The Moon is a first quarter tonight, 55% lit and 7.8 days into its cycle. It rises at 3:36 PM and sets at 12:38 AM local time, so the darkest stargazing window falls after moonset, once the glare is out of the sky. The next full moon — the Hunter's Moon — arrives on October 26, and the next new moon on November 9. Phase, illumination and rise and set times on this page are computed from the Moon's actual orbital position for your location rather than looked up in a table, so they shift correctly as you move across the country. Cloud cover decides everything else: check
tonight's forecast for Columbus before you plan an evening outside.