394
Moon phase lookup
The exact phase, illumination, and moon age for any date — plus the next new and full moons.
REFERENCE TABLE · TIME & DATE · 2026
Moon Phases 2026 Chart
Every primary moon phase of 2026 in one printable table — all 12 new moons, 13 full moons with their traditional names, and every quarter date, from U.S. Naval Observatory data — plus two live lookups: check the phase for any date, or find the next new, quarter, or full moon from any day.
395
Next moon phase finder
Pick a phase and a start date — get the exact calendar day it lands on.
The complete 2026 moon phases chart
All dates below are in UTC, from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Depending on your time zone, a phase can fall on the neighboring calendar day where you live. Print this page (Ctrl/Cmd+P) for a clean copy.
| Month | New Moon | First Quarter | Full Moon | Last Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Jan 18 | Jan 26 | Jan 3 — Wolf Moon | Jan 10 |
| February | Feb 17 ✦ | Feb 24 | Feb 1 — Snow Moon | Feb 9 |
| March | Mar 19 | Mar 25 | Mar 3 — Worm Moon | Mar 11 |
| April | Apr 17 | Apr 24 | Apr 2 — Pink Moon | Apr 10 |
| May | May 16 | May 23 | May 1 — Flower Moon May 31 — Blue Moon | May 9 |
| June | Jun 15 | Jun 21 | Jun 29 — Strawberry Moon | Jun 8 |
| July | Jul 14 | Jul 21 | Jul 29 — Buck Moon | Jul 7 |
| August | Aug 12 ✦ | Aug 20 | Aug 28 — Sturgeon Moon | Aug 6 |
| September | Sep 11 | Sep 18 | Sep 26 — Harvest Moon | Sep 4 |
| October | Oct 10 | Oct 18 | Oct 26 — Hunter’s Moon | Oct 3 |
| November | Nov 9 | Nov 17 | Nov 24 — Beaver Moon | Nov 1 |
| December | Dec 9 | Dec 17 | Dec 24 — Cold Moon | Dec 1 Dec 30 |
✦ Eclipse notes: the February 17 new moon coincides with an annular solar eclipse, and the August 12 new moon coincides with a total solar eclipse visible in Iceland and Spain. Eclipses only happen at new (solar) or full (lunar) moons, when the sun, Earth, and Moon line up.
Data source: U.S. Naval Observatory, “Dates of Primary Phases of the Moon” — https://aa.usno.navy.mil/calculated/moon/phases?year=2026. Phase dates are facts and free to reference; all wording and presentation on this page are original.
The worked examples, line by line
Lookup — October 10, 2026: the calculator returns New Moon, 0.9% illuminated, moon age 28.6 days — matching the table’s October new moon exactly. Next full moon: October 26, 2026 (Hunter’s Moon), 16 days later. Next new moon: November 9, 2026, 30 days later.
Lookup — October 26, 2026: the calculator returns Full Moon — the Hunter’s Moon, matching the table.
Finder — from October 23, 2026: the next full moon lands on October 26, 2026 (3 days away), and the next new moon on November 9, 2026 (17 days away) — both exactly as the chart shows. The next first quarter from the same date is November 17, 2026 (25 days), also a table match.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Phase name | round(frac × 8) mod 8 → 8 named segments | Which eighth of the lunar cycle the date falls in — New, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, or Waning Crescent. |
| Moon age | (JD − 2451550.2597) mod 29.53058867 | Days since the last new moon, counting from the January 6, 2000 reference new moon. |
| Illumination | (1 − cos(2π × frac)) / 2 × 100 | The percentage of the Moon’s visible face lit by the sun — ~0% at new moon, ~100% at full. |
| Next full / new moon | first 2026 USNO date after the input (mean synodic month beyond 2026) | The calendar day of the upcoming phase, taken straight from the Observatory table for 2026 dates. |
Who uses this
- Stargazers planning dark-sky nights: the weeks around each new moon — February 17, August 12, October 10 — are the darkest, and the best for Milky Way viewing.
- Photographers chasing moonrise shots: full moons rise near sunset, so the chart’s full-moon column doubles as a golden-hour shooting calendar.
- Gardeners planting by the moon: many traditional planting calendars key off new and full moons — this chart gives the whole year at a glance.
- Teachers and students: a classroom-ready 2026 reference for moon-journal assignments, with a citation block below built for schoolwork.
Accuracy & limitations
Three things to know. First, time zones: the table is in UTC, so a phase listed on the 10th can fall on the 9th or 11th where you live — the tool evaluates dates at UTC noon for the same reason. Second, the month is not constant: the calculator uses the mean synodic month of 29.53058867 days, but a real lunation runs anywhere from 29.27 to 29.83 days — so live lookups can sit ±1 day off the Observatory table, which is the authoritative source. Third, scope: the 2026 table is exact USNO data; for dates in other years the tool relies on the mean-month math alone, so treat those as good estimates, not almanac entries.
Cite this chartBright Side Kit. “Moon Phases 2026 Chart.” brightoolbox.com, 2026.
Bright Side Kit. "Moon Phases 2026 Chart." https://brightoolbox.com/moon-phases-2026-chart/ Accessed October 23, 2026.Frequently asked questions
How many full moons are there in 2026?
Thirteen. Every month gets one, and May gets two — May 1 (the Flower Moon) and May 31. That second full moon in a calendar month is the traditional Blue Moon.
What are the 2026 full moon names?
In order: Wolf (Jan 3), Snow (Feb 1), Worm (Mar 3), Pink (Apr 2), Flower (May 1), Blue (May 31), Strawberry (Jun 29), Buck (Jul 29), Sturgeon (Aug 28), Harvest (Sep 26), Hunter’s (Oct 26), Beaver (Nov 24), and Cold (Dec 24). These are the traditional North American names popularized by almanacs.
Why does 2026 have 13 full moons instead of 12?
A lunar cycle is about 29.53 days, so a year holds roughly 12.37 full moons. About every two to three years the fractions add up to a thirteenth — and 2026 is one of those years, with the extra full moon landing in May.
Are there any eclipses in 2026?
Yes — two solar eclipses. The February 17 new moon brings an annular solar eclipse, and the August 12 new moon brings a total solar eclipse visible in Iceland and Spain. Solar eclipses can only happen at new moons, when the Moon sits between the Earth and the sun.
Are moon phase dates the same everywhere in the world?
The instant of a phase is the same everywhere, but the calendar date can differ by a day across time zones. This chart uses UTC (U.S. Naval Observatory data); in the Americas a phase can fall on the previous local date, and in Asia-Pacific on the next one.
How accurate is the moon phase lookup tool?
It computes from the mean synodic month (29.53058867 days), which puts it within about ±1 day of the real event, since true lunations vary between 29.27 and 29.83 days. For 2026 dates, cross-check against the Observatory table above — it is the authoritative record.