Free tool
Moon Phase Calendar for Any Month, in Your Time Zone
The exact times of each lunar phase in your own time zone, with a picture of the Moon for every day of the month.
What changed
- : First published.
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On this page
How to use it
Pick a month and a time zone. The calendar opens on the current month in your device's time zone. You will see:
- A list of the main phases that month: new Moon, first quarter, full Moon and last quarter, each with its exact local date and time.
- A day-by-day grid with a drawing of the Moon's shape, the illuminated percentage and the Moon's zodiac sign at noon. Days with a main phase are highlighted.
The drawings show the Moon as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, lit on the right while waxing and on the left while waning. South of the equator the picture is mirrored.
How phase times are calculated
The four main phases are defined by the Moon's position relative to the Sun, measured along the ecliptic. A new Moon is the moment the two share the same ecliptic longitude. First quarter comes when the Moon is 90 degrees east of the Sun, full Moon at 180 degrees, and last quarter at 270 degrees. The calculator searches for those exact moments using Astronomy Engine, an open-source astronomy library, and converts them to your time zone with your browser's time zone database.
Illumination is the fraction of the disk lit, computed from the angle between the Sun and Moon as seen from Earth. The Moon's sign is its ecliptic longitude at local noon, using the tropical zodiac.
How we checked it
We compared every phase from January 2026 through December 2027 (99 of them) with the US Naval Observatory's published phase times. The largest difference was 1.3 minutes. We also confirmed that the local calendar date matched for 13 time zones, from Honolulu to Auckland. No date was off.
Example: November 2026
Choose November 2026 and US Mountain time. The full Moon falls on Tuesday, November 24, and the next new Moon on December 8 (Mountain time). The new Moon that started the month came on November 9. Change the zone to Auckland and the times shift forward by 20 hours, which can move a phase to the following date.
The phases, briefly
| Phase | Angle from Sun | When it rises (approximately) | What you see |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Moon | 0° | Sunrise | Nothing, or a thin crescent a day or two later |
| First quarter | 90° | Around noon | Right half lit, high in the evening sky |
| Full Moon | 180° | Sunset | Whole disk lit, up all night |
| Last quarter | 270° | Around midnight | Left half lit, visible in the morning |
The full cycle from one new Moon to the next, the synodic month, averages about 29.5 days. That is why most months have one full Moon and occasionally two.
The Moon in astrology
Astrologers treat the Moon as the fastest-moving body in the chart and link it to moods, habits and the rhythm of daily life. Traditional practice associates the new Moon with fresh starts and the full Moon with culmination and release. Those links are tradition, not science, so enjoy them as a reflective ritual, and use the exact times here if you like to mark the moment. If you enjoy noting how each phase felt, a moon phase journal gives you a page per lunar cycle. For the sky behind today's horoscope, see the crystal of the day and any sign page.
Common questions
Why does my calendar show a different date for the full Moon?
Each phase happens at a single instant worldwide. Printed calendars usually use one time zone, often US Eastern or UTC, so the date can differ by a day from yours. Pick your own zone here.
What does illumination mean?
It is the share of the Moon's visible disk lit by the Sun, from 0% at new Moon to 100% at full Moon.
Why is the Moon sign given at noon?
The Moon changes sign about every two and a half days, so on some days it is in two signs. Noon is a simple, consistent point to report.
Sources
- US Naval Observatory, Phases of the Moon data service
- NASA Science, Moon Phases
- Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 by Don Cross (MIT license)
Checked Nov 11, 2026. Spot an error? Tell us.