Full Moon field guide · UK dates

The Sturgeon Moon

A Great Lakes seasonal name associated with lake sturgeon during late summer.

What Sturgeon Moon means

Sturgeon Moon is the widely used August label and is associated with fishing seasons around the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. It is a regional name that entered the modern almanac list, alongside many alternatives.

UK nights are darkening quickly again, giving the August full Moon more time in a properly dark sky.

Next UK occurrence

Tue, 17 Aug 2027

Exact full Moon: . Brown lunation 1294.

Three-year almanac

Sturgeon Moon dates, 2026–2028

YearUK date and timeLunationCalendar
20261282Open month
20271294Open month
20281306Open month

02

What to notice from the UK

Watch for the Moon rising through late-summer haze, then compare its colour after it climbs clear of the horizon.

The disc looks full on the nights around the exact instant. A low Moon may look larger or warmer because of perspective and the atmosphere, not because its phase changed.

03

Other recorded labels

Almanacs do not share one universal naming system. This month is also listed as Weed Moon in an Old English grouping and Dispute Moon in a modern Celtic-revival grouping.

Naming and calculation sources