Phases of the Moon Pro

Review by eFreeware

If you check the sky most evenings and want to know what the Moon is doing before you step outside, Phases of the Moon Pro is built for you. It puts the current phase, illumination, moonrise and moonset times and the distance to the Moon in one place, with a 3-D simulation at the center of it. The app costs $1.99, carries no ads and offers no in-app purchases, so what you pay at the store is the whole arrangement.

The appeal is the combination of reference and display. You can look up a date, or you can let the app sit on your home screen as a wallpaper or widget and keep the current phase in view without opening anything. That mix suits people who follow lunar events casually but want the numbers to be right when they do look.

It has been on Google Play since July 2012 and was last updated in August 2026, with more than 50,000 installs and a 3.5 average from 4,741 ratings. That average suggests a settled, useful app rather than a flawless one, and I would treat the rating as a reason to read what it offers carefully before buying.

The 3-D Moon You Can Drag Through Time

The centerpiece is a three-dimensional simulation of the Moon, built with imagery from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio. A finger drag moves the Moon through its phases, and a spin jumps quickly forward or back. It is a tactile way to see how the lit portion changes across a cycle, and it covers the full set of phases, from new moon through the quarters to full and the crescent and gibbous stages in between.

The simulation is not static. It updates in real time, so the phase you see matches the current date, and the shadows on the surface shift as the cycle progresses. The developer also models libration, the slight wobble the Moon shows as it orbits Earth, which means the view is not a fixed face repeated at every phase.

Because the app uses your location and hemisphere, the orientation of the Moon is adjusted to match what you would see from where you are. That matters if you use the app to plan a look at the sky, since a view flipped for the northern hemisphere would be misleading if you are standing in the southern one.

A monthly calendar backs up the simulation, showing what the Moon will look like across the days of a month. Between the two, you can either scrub through time by hand or scan a month at a glance, depending on whether you want to explore or just check a date.

Data Panels, Wallpaper and Widget

Around the simulation sits a set of readouts: the current date, the phase name, the percentage of the Moon that is illuminated, the distance to the Moon and its zodiac location. Moonrise and moonset times are included too, and you can look at today's times or move to a past or future date to see how they change. A button takes you straight to the next full moon or new moon, which saves working through the calendar when that is all you want to know.

The live wallpaper and widget carry the same idea onto your home screen. Rather than opening the app, you can glance at the wallpaper or widget to see the current phase. For anyone who likes having the sky reflected on their phone, this is the feature that keeps the app in daily view.

Alerts are the other practical piece. You can set a reminder for a specific lunar event, or choose your own day and time, so an eclipse or a notable full moon does not pass you by. The developer frames this around events like a lunar eclipse, a super blood moon or a wolf moon, and the custom option covers anything else you want to note.

There is also a sharing option for sending your images out to social networks, which fits the app's visual emphasis. If you enjoy capturing a phase or an eclipse view and posting it, the app gives you a way to pass it along.

Zooming In on Craters and Landing Sites

Pinching to zoom on the Moon opens up a lunar atlas rather than just enlarging the globe. The atlas marks spacecraft landing sites, the mare, and large craters, so the surface becomes a map you can explore instead of a texture you look at. For someone learning the names of lunar features, or for a parent answering questions about where missions touched down, this is the part that rewards a closer look.

It pairs naturally with the phase simulation. You can set the Moon to a phase where a region is well lit, then zoom in on the same area to see the features there. The two views work on the same object, which makes the atlas more than a separate diagram.

I would treat the atlas as a reference layer rather than a guided tour. It labels what is on the surface; what you do with those labels is up to you.

What It Asks of You

The cost is straightforward: $1.99 up front, no ads and no in-app purchases. The app is a single paid download with no free tier and no later unlocks.

The app uses GPS to detect your hemisphere and location so the Moon is oriented correctly for where you are. That is the main thing it needs from you, and it is the reason the simulation can claim to look right from your position.

It sits in the Weather category and carries an Everyone content rating, so it is not gated in any way. The developer invites email for questions, problems with a specific Android version, and feature ideas, which is a useful channel if something about your device behaves unexpectedly.

Getting the Most From the Simulation

If you are planning an evening outside or a photograph, the date selection takes you there without scrolling through a calendar. From there, the rise and set times tell you when the Moon will actually be up, which matters more than the phase alone if you intend to look at it.

For eclipses and other events you care about, set an alert in advance with the custom date and time option. The app can remind you, but it cannot make the weather cooperate, so having the reminder early gives you room to watch the forecast.

If you want the app visible without opening it, the live wallpaper and widget are the practical choice. They turn the current phase into something you see in passing rather than something you deliberately check, which is how most people end up learning the cycle.

When you want to go deeper, drag the Moon by hand and watch the shadows move, then spin it to move quickly across the cycle. Zooming into the atlas afterward connects the phase you were looking at to the surface features underneath.

A Lunar Companion for Regular Skywatchers

Phases of the Moon Pro is a focused, paid tool for people who follow the Moon and want its phase, illumination, distance and rise and set times in one place. The 3-D simulation, the live wallpaper and widget, the calendar, the atlas and the alerts all serve that single purpose, and the absence of ads and purchases keeps the experience uncluttered.

It is a long-running one, released in 2012 and updated as recently as August 2026, which suggests it has been maintained rather than abandoned. For $1.99 with no ongoing costs, the question is simply whether you want a lunar reference on your phone often enough to justify a one-time purchase.

If you check the Moon regularly, plan around full moons and eclipses, or want a wallpaper that reflects the current phase, this is a reasonable buy. If you only wonder about the Moon once in a while, the paid entry and the depth of the atlas may be more than you need.