Moon CalendarUK astronomical almanac

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Moon Calendar

New Moon · quarters · full Moon

Moon phases: the 8 phases and this year's dates

The Moon goes through 8 phases in a 29.5-day cycle, from new Moon to full Moon and back. Right now it is in its waning crescent phase: 4% lit, 27.6 days into the cycle.

The 8 Moon phases in order

  1. New Moon0–4% lit

    It rises and sets close to the Sun and is normally lost in daylight.Next starts

  2. Waxing Crescent4–31% lit

    Low in the western sky after sunset, setting later each evening.Next starts

  3. First Quarter31–69% lit

    Rises around midday, stands high near sunset and sets around midnight.Next starts

  4. Waxing Gibbous69–96% lit

    Visible from afternoon through much of the evening and after midnight.Next starts

  5. Full Moon96–100% lit

    Rises near sunset, crosses the sky overnight and sets near sunrise.Next starts

  6. Waning Gibbous69–96% lit

    Rises during the evening and remains prominent in the morning sky.Next starts

  7. Last Quarter31–69% lit

    Rises around midnight, is high near dawn and remains visible into morning.Next starts

  8. Waning Crescent4–31% lit

    Low in the eastern sky before sunrise and harder to see each morning.now until

Each phase name covers about 3.7 days. The exact new Moon, quarters and full Moon are single instants in the middle of their phase; the year schedule below lists them.

Next new and full Moon

What causes the Moon phases

The Sun always lights half of the Moon. As the Moon orbits the Earth we see a changing share of that lit half: all of it at full Moon, none of it at new Moon, and a half disc at the two quarters.

One round of phases, from new Moon to the next new Moon, takes 29.5 days. That is longer than the 27.3 days the Moon needs to circle the Earth, because the Earth moves round the Sun in the meantime and the Moon has to catch up.

Waxing and waning. Waxing means the lit part is growing, from new Moon to full Moon; from the UK it is lit on the right. Waning means it is shrinking, from full Moon to new Moon, lit on the left. The percentage lit alone cannot tell them apart: a 30% crescent can be either, and the lit side shows which.

The Moon calendar shows the phase for every day of the month.

How long is a lunar cycle?

On average 29.53 days between two new Moons, but any single cycle is up to about seven hours shorter or longer. Pick a moment to see how long it takes the Moon to return to the same phase from there.

UK default: Europe/London (GMT/BST).

On 2026-11-07 at 12:00 the Moon is in its new moon phase, 3% lit. It returns to this point in its cycle on , 29.66 days later.

PeriodMean daysReturns to
Synodic29.53059Same Sun–Moon angle: the cycle of phases
Sidereal27.32166Same direction against the stars
Anomalistic27.55455Perigee, the closest point to Earth
Draconic27.21222Ascending orbital node
Tropical27.32158Same equinox-based longitude
UK default: Europe/London (GMT/BST).

Annual event ledger

Principal Moon phases in 2026

Four exact astronomical instants anchor each lunar cycle. Times below are shown in Europe/London; UTC remains available as a secondary reference.

January

  1. Full MoonUTC 2026-01-03T10:03:26.043Z2026-01-03
  2. Last QuarterUTC 2026-01-10T15:49:02.731Z2026-01-10
  3. New MoonUTC 2026-01-18T19:52:39.367Z2026-01-18
  4. First QuarterUTC 2026-01-26T04:47:56.246Z2026-01-26

February

  1. Full MoonUTC 2026-02-01T22:09:49.657Z2026-02-01
  2. Last QuarterUTC 2026-02-09T12:43:45.995Z2026-02-09
  3. New MoonUTC 2026-02-17T12:01:47.328Z2026-02-17
  4. First QuarterUTC 2026-02-24T12:28:08.778Z2026-02-24

March

  1. Full MoonUTC 2026-03-03T11:38:32.022Z2026-03-03
  2. Last QuarterUTC 2026-03-11T09:39:07.989Z2026-03-11
  3. New MoonUTC 2026-03-19T01:24:05.931Z2026-03-19
  4. First QuarterUTC 2026-03-25T19:18:16.167Z2026-03-25

April

  1. Full MoonUTC 2026-04-02T02:12:36.809Z2026-04-02
  2. Last QuarterUTC 2026-04-10T04:52:18.443Z2026-04-10
  3. New MoonUTC 2026-04-17T11:52:21.628Z2026-04-17
  4. First QuarterUTC 2026-04-24T02:32:17.627Z2026-04-24

May

  1. Full MoonUTC 2026-05-01T17:23:47.564Z2026-05-01
  2. Last QuarterUTC 2026-05-09T21:11:02.665Z2026-05-09
  3. New MoonUTC 2026-05-16T20:01:32.344Z2026-05-16
  4. First QuarterUTC 2026-05-23T11:11:29.459Z2026-05-23
  5. Full MoonUTC 2026-05-31T08:45:48.291Z2026-05-31

June

  1. Last QuarterUTC 2026-06-08T10:00:59.929Z2026-06-08
  2. New MoonUTC 2026-06-15T02:54:39.007Z2026-06-15
  3. First QuarterUTC 2026-06-21T21:55:57.925Z2026-06-21
  4. Full MoonUTC 2026-06-29T23:57:17.744Z2026-06-30

July

  1. Last QuarterUTC 2026-07-07T19:29:28.944Z2026-07-07
  2. New MoonUTC 2026-07-14T09:44:04.307Z2026-07-14
  3. First QuarterUTC 2026-07-21T11:06:11.173Z2026-07-21
  4. Full MoonUTC 2026-07-29T14:36:19.011Z2026-07-29

August

  1. Last QuarterUTC 2026-08-06T02:21:58.672Z2026-08-06
  2. New MoonUTC 2026-08-12T17:37:11.343Z2026-08-12
  3. First QuarterUTC 2026-08-20T02:46:58.247Z2026-08-20
  4. Full MoonUTC 2026-08-28T04:19:06.085Z2026-08-28

September

  1. Last QuarterUTC 2026-09-04T07:51:42.224Z2026-09-04
  2. New MoonUTC 2026-09-11T03:27:28.467Z2026-09-11
  3. First QuarterUTC 2026-09-18T20:44:24.674Z2026-09-18
  4. Full MoonUTC 2026-09-26T16:49:32.233Z2026-09-26

October

  1. Last QuarterUTC 2026-10-03T13:25:33.710Z2026-10-03
  2. New MoonUTC 2026-10-10T15:50:36.724Z2026-10-10
  3. First QuarterUTC 2026-10-18T16:13:19.496Z2026-10-18
  4. Full MoonUTC 2026-10-26T04:12:15.538Z2026-10-26

November

  1. Last QuarterUTC 2026-11-01T20:28:58.794Z2026-11-01
  2. New MoonUTC 2026-11-09T07:02:42.392Z2026-11-09
  3. First QuarterUTC 2026-11-17T11:48:27.140Z2026-11-17
  4. Full MoonUTC 2026-11-24T14:54:04.191Z2026-11-24

December

  1. Last QuarterUTC 2026-12-01T06:09:14.538Z2026-12-01
  2. New MoonUTC 2026-12-09T00:52:31.284Z2026-12-09
  3. First QuarterUTC 2026-12-17T05:43:14.883Z2026-12-17
  4. Full MoonUTC 2026-12-24T01:28:45.040Z2026-12-24
  5. Last QuarterUTC 2026-12-30T19:00:07.341Z2026-12-30