Phase 5 of 8 🌕
Full Moon Moon
The entire near side is sunlit: the Moon sits opposite the Sun, rising at sunset and lighting the sky all night long.
The next Full Moon is on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Tonight the Moon is a First Quarter, 31% lit.
What a full moon is
At full moon the Moon stands on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, so we look straight at its fully sunlit face. It is the brightest object in the night sky by far — bright enough to cast shadows and wash out all but the brighter stars. Technically “full” is a single instant (when the Moon is exactly opposite the Sun), but the disk looks essentially full for a night on either side.
Full moon is also the only phase that can produce a lunar eclipse: if the alignment is exact, the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow and dims to a deep red. Most months the tilt of the Moon’s orbit carries it just above or below the shadow, and the full moon passes uneclipsed. When a full moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth, it appears slightly larger and brighter — a supermoon.
Every month’s full moon also carries a traditional name — the Wolf Moon in January, the Harvest Moon near the autumn equinox — inherited from Native American, Anglo-Saxon and colonial calendars.
When & where to see it
A full moon rises in the east right around sunset, climbs highest near local midnight, and sets in the west around sunrise — the only phase that is up all night, every hour of darkness.
It looks its most dramatic in the first hour after moonrise, sitting huge and golden on the horizon. The size is an illusion (the disk is no bigger than usual), but the low, warm-toned Moon against a landscape is the classic photograph. For crater detail, though, full is the worst night: the light falls straight on, casting no shadows — shoot a few nights before or after instead.
Exact rise and set times depend on where you stand — check moonrise & moonset for your location.
Upcoming full moon dates
| Date (UTC) | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| Wed, July 29, 2026 | 15:01 |
| Fri, August 28, 2026 | 07:00 |
| Sat, September 26, 2026 | 21:33 |
| Mon, October 26, 2026 | 08:58 |
| Tue, November 24, 2026 | 17:35 |
| Thu, December 24, 2026 | 01:16 |
Computed from lunar geometry (UTC). For any specific date, try the moon phase calculator.
Full Moon meaning
Symbolically the full moon is culmination — completion, harvest, heightened emotion, things brought into the open. Traditions from folklore to modern lunar journaling treat it as the peak of the cycle, the moment of release before the light begins to wane. More on moon phase meanings →
Frequently Asked
What time does the full moon rise?
Right around sunset, opposite the setting Sun. It stays up all night and sets around sunrise — the only phase visible all night long.
How often is there a full moon?
Every 29.5 days on average. Most years have 12 full moons; occasionally a 13th squeezes in, giving one month a second full moon — a “blue moon”.
Why isn’t there a lunar eclipse every full moon?
The Moon’s orbit is tilted about 5° to Earth’s orbit, so at most full moons the Moon passes above or below Earth’s shadow. Only when full moon happens near an orbital crossing point does an eclipse occur.
Is the full moon actually bigger some months?
Slightly, yes. The Moon’s distance varies by about 14%, and a full moon near perigee (a supermoon) looks a little larger and up to ~15% brighter than one near apogee.