Ethan More
September 18, 2023
These are the full moon dates for 2023.
The moon will seem full the night before and the night after the next full moon, which will occur on Friday, Sept. 29 at 5:57 a.m. ET (0957 GMT). It follows the blue moon supermoon, which occurred on August 30, the month’s second full moon.
The Harvest Moon full moon in September will be the year’s fourth and last supermoon.
Because the moon’s orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle but rather a flattened circle or an ellipse, so-called supermoons take place. This implies that there are points along the moon’s 27.3-day orbit when it is closer to Earth and points when it is farther away.
Related: Sturgeon supermoon delighted skywatchers throughout the world (pictures)
When a full moon occurs within 90% of its closest approach to Earth, according to former NASA astrophysicist and eclipse expert Fred Espanak, it is referred to as a “supermoon”; this year, there will be four of these visible. The first two supermoons occurred on July 3 and August 1, while the following two will take place on August 30 and September 29.
About once a month, the full moon faces Earth. I guess, sort of.
The full moon is frequently not exactly full. The same side of the moon is constantly visible to us, yet because of the moon’s rotation, some of it is always in shadow. A lunar eclipse only occurs when the moon, Earth, and sun are exactly lined up. Only then is the moon at its fullest.
In addition, the moon can occasionally be full twice in a month (or four times in a season, depending on your definition of a “blue moon”).
Related: What to See in the Night Sky
Would you like to explore our rocky companion more thoroughly in the moonlight? Our comprehensive reference to lunar observation can assist you in organizing your upcoming skywatching trip, whether it involves traveling through the moon’s oceans, mountains, or numerous craters. With the help of our Apollo landing sites viewing guide, you may also see the places where rovers, landers, and astronauts have traveled.
With these instructions on how to shoot the moon and how to photograph a lunar eclipse, you can get ready for the following full moon or eclipse. To make sure you’re prepared for your upcoming skywatching excursion, have a look at our top astrophotography cameras and finest astrophotography lenses.
Check out our guides to the finest binoculars and best telescopes if you’re seeking for equipment to observe the moon.
WHEN WILL THE MOON BE FULL? 2023 CALENDAR DATES
In 2023, the following dates will see full moons, according to NASA:
| Date | Name | U.S. Eastern Time | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 | Wolf Moon | 6:08 p.m. | 23:08 |
| February 5 | Snow Moon | 1:29 p.m. | 18:29 |
| March 7 | Worm Moon | 7:40 a.m. | 12:40 |
| April 6 | Pink Moon | 12:34 a.m. | 04:34 |
| May 5 | Flower Moon | 1:34 p.m. | 17:34 |
| June 3 | Strawberry Moon | 11:42 p.m. | 03:42 on June 4 |
| July 3 | Buck Moon | 7:39 a.m. | 11:39 |
| August 1 | Sturgeon Moon | 2:31 p.m. | 18:31 |
| August 30 | Blue Moon | 9:35 p.m. | 01:35 Aug. 31 |
| September 29 | Harvest Moon | 5:57 a.m. | 09:57 |
| October 28 | Hunter’s Moon | 4:24 p.m. | 20:24 |
| November 27 | Beaver Moon | 4:16 a.m. | 09:16 |
| December 26 | Cold Moon | 10:33 p.m. | 03:33 GMT on Dec. 27 |
EXPLAINED FULL MOON NAMES FOR 2023
Each month’s full moon has a different name from a variety of cultures. The names were used to refer to each event’s full month. Numerous names that are often used in the US are included in the Farmer’s Almanac. The Algonquin tribes from New England on west to Lake Superior used the same names for the moon, with a few minor modifications. European immigrants established some of their own names and followed their own traditions.
There were other Native Americans with distinct names. More than 50 indigenous peoples and their names for full moons are listed by author Phil Konstantin in the book “This Day in North American Indian History” (Da Capo Press, 2002). On his website AmericanIndian.net, he also has a list of them.
On his website, amateur astronomer Keith Cooley provides a brief overview of the names of the moon in other civilizations, such as Chinese and Celtic.
Moon names in Chinese:
| Month | Name | Month | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Holiday Moon | July | Hungry Ghost Moon |
| February | Budding Moon | August | Harvest Moon |
| March | Sleepy Moon | September | Chrysanthemum Moon |
| April | Peony Moon | October | Kindly moon |
| May | Dragon Moon | November | White Moon |
| June | Lotus Moon | December | Bitter Moon |
A Harvest Moon occurs towards the conclusion of the growth season, in September or October, and the Cold Moon occurs in chilly December. Full moon names frequently correspond to seasonal markers. That is, at least, how things operate in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Harvest Moon takes place in March and the Cold Moon takes place in June in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed. These are typical names for full moons that occur south of the equator, according to Earthsky.org.
Hay Moon, Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, and Mead Moon in January
Grain Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon, Wyrt Moon, Corn Moon, Dog Moon, and Barley Moon in February (mid-summer).
Harvest Moon and Corn Moon in March
Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon, and Blood Moon in April
During the month of May, there are three full moons.
Oak Moon, Cold Moon, and Long Night’s Moon in June
Wolf Moon, Old Moon, and Ice Moon in July
Snow Moon, Storm Moon, Hunger Moon, and Wolf Moon in August
The Worm Moon, Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Sugar Moon, Chaste Moon, and Sap Moon occur in September.
Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Seed Moon, Pink Moon, and Waking Moon are all in October.
Corn, Milk, Flower, and Hare Moons occur in November.
Strawberry Moon, Honey Moon, and Rose Moon in December
THE MOON’S PHASES DESCRIBED WITH DATES
Every 27.3 days, the moon makes one full orbit around the planet. The moon rotates on its axis in around 27 days as well. So there is no unique “dark side” of the moon; it always presents us with the same face. The moon is lighted by the sun from various angles as it rotates around the Earth; what we see when we gaze at the moon is reflected sunlight. The moon rises every day around 50 minutes later on average, so sometimes it does so during the day and other times it does so at night.
New moon, first quarter moon, full moon, and third quarter moon are the four moon phases.
The moon is between Earth and the sun at new moon, thus the side of the moon that faces us doesn’t get direct sunlight but just dim sunlight that is reflected off of Earth.
A few days later, the visible side of the moon gradually becomes more lit by direct sunlight as it orbits the planet. The waxing crescent is the name given to this tiny sliver.
The moon is 90 degrees from the sun in the sky a week after the new moon, and from our perspective, it is half-illuminated. This is known as first quarter because it is roughly one-fourth of the way around Earth.
The area of illumination keeps expanding a few days later. The moon’s face looks to be receiving sunlight on more than half of it. Waxing gibbous moon is the name of this phase.
The sun, Earth, and moon create a line once the moon has shifted 180 degrees from its new moon position. This is referred to as a full moon because the moon’s disk is as near as it can go to being completely illuminated by the sun.
The moon then advances until it looks to be receiving sunlight on more than half of its face, yet the amount is dwindling. The declining gibbous phase is right now.
A few days later, the moon had completed the third quarter of its orbit around Earth. The other side of the moon’s visible face is now illuminated by the sun.
The moon then enters the waning crescent phase, which is marked by less than half of its face seeming to receive sunlight and a decreasing amount of it.
The moon then returns to its initial new moon position. Rarely are they completely aligned because the moon’s orbit is not exactly in the same plane as Earth’s orbit around the sun. From our vantage point, the moon typically crosses in front of or behind the sun, but rarely it does the opposite, causing a solar eclipse.
Every full moon is timed to happen at a specific period, which might or might not be close to when the moon rises where you are. A casual skywatcher won’t notice the difference when a full moon rises because it usually does so several hours before or after the time when it is technically full. In fact, the moon will frequently appear similar on two nights that follow the full moon.
2023 LUNAR ECLIPSES
The full moon and lunar eclipses are intricately linked. Visit our lunar eclipse guide to learn where and when you can watch the next lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is in its full phase, when it is passing through Earth’s shadow and passing behind the Earth with respect to the sun. We witness a total lunar eclipse when the moon is entirely covered by the Earth’s shadow. Other times, a partial lunar eclipse occurs, or even a penumbral lunar eclipse, where the moon just partially passes through the Earth’s shadow and only skirts the edge of it.
Two lunar eclipses occur in 2023: a penumbral eclipse on May 5 and a partial eclipse on October 28.
On May 5, there was a very minor lunar eclipse known as the penumbral lunar eclipse, during which the moon passed through the very edge of the Earth’s shadow. South and East Europe, much of Asia, Australia, Africa, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Antarctica may all see it. According to TimeandDate.com, the eclipse started at 10:11 a.m. EST (1511 GMT), reached its maximum at 12:22 p.m. EST (1722 GMT), and finished at 2:31 p.m. EST (1931 GMT). The eclipse lasted for a total of 4 hours, 18 minutes.
Over Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, North/East South America, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic, and Antarctica, one can see the partial moon eclipse on October 18. It will start at 2:35 EST (1935 GMT), reach its peak at 15:14 EST (2014 GMT), and terminate at 3:52 EST (2052 GMT) as a partial eclipse. The duration is 4 hours, 25 minutes.
The moon does not always line up with Earth’s shadow because of the tilt in its orbit, therefore we do not see lunar eclipses every month.
2023 SOLAR ECLIPSES
The side of the moon that faces the Earth appears dark because the moon is passing between the Earth and the sun during its “new” phase. Visit our solar eclipse guide to learn when and where the next eclipse will be visible.
On rare occasions, the moon’s orbit aligns with the sun in such a way that, when seen from Earth, the sun is partially or completely obscured by the moon. We see a total solar eclipse during the day, which can be a very breathtaking sight, when the moon fully obscures the disk of the sun. In a partial solar eclipse, the moon can only occasionally completely obscure the sun.
The moon is at a position in its orbit that is too far from Earth for it to completely cover the sun’s disk, but it can still produce a “ring of fire” solar eclipse when it passes directly in front of the sun. This results in what is known as an annular solar eclipse, which leaves a ring, or “annulus,” around the moon.
In 2023, there will be two solar eclipses: an annular eclipse on October 14 and a hybrid eclipse on April 20.
On April 20, a unique hybrid solar eclipse occurred that combined an annular “ring of fire” eclipse with a brief total solar eclipse across some areas of the planet. In the Indian and Pacific oceans, the annular effect was briefly observable, but it is not visible anywhere on land. Only three places on earth, Exmouth in Western Australia, Timor Leste, and West Papua, were able to see the total eclipse.
On October 14, there will be a partial annular solar eclipse that can be seen in regions of North America, Central America, and South America. It will start in the west and move from Oregon’s coast to Texas’s gulf coast, passing through Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico as well as some regions of California, Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona. After that, it flies over Panama, Belize, Honduras, and Mexico. It will cross over Brazil and Columbia before coming to an end in South America.
MORE RESOURCES FOR THE FULL MOON AND NIGHT SKY
- Rocket launches, sky events, missions, and more are on the 2023 space calendar!
- Sky Events Calendar from NASA
- The 10 Skywatching Events You Must Attend in 2023
