Moon phase calendar
Pick a month and a time zone to see the Moon’s phase each day, when the main phases happen, and which nights are darkest for stargazing.
Result
Least moonlight in October 2026: Oct 6–14. On these evenings the Moon is 20% lit or less, the best time for faint galaxies, nebulae and meteor showers.
- 169%
- 258%
- 347%Last quarter
- 436%
- 525%
- 616%
- 79%
- 84%
- 91%
- 100%New Moon
- 112%
- 125%
- 1310%
- 1417%
- 1525%
- 1633%
- 1742%
- 1852%First quarter
- 1961%
- 2070%
- 2179%
- 2287%
- 2393%
- 2498%
- 25100%
- 2699%Full Moon
- 2796%
- 2890%
- 2982%
- 3072%
- 3161%
Phase at 9 pm local time, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. Outlined days have a main phase.
Want to know when moonlight won’t spoil your target, for your place and every night?
Join the waitlistHow it works
The Moon’s phase depends on the angle between the Moon and the Sun as seen from Earth. When that angle is 0° we have a new Moon, at 90° first quarter, at 180° a full Moon and at 270° last quarter. SkyMate computes it with the open-source astronomy-engine library, accurate to within a few minutes for the main phase times, then converts those times to the time zone you choose. The day-by-day phase and percentage lit are for 9 pm local time.
A full lunar cycle takes about 29.5 days, so most months have one of each main phase and a few have two full Moons or two new Moons. The phase is the same for everyone on Earth at the same moment; only the clock time and date change with your time zone. South of the equator the Moon appears flipped, with a waxing Moon lit on the left.
Evenings with the Moon 20% lit or less are marked darker. Moonlight also depends on when the Moon is above your horizon: a first-quarter Moon sets around midnight, a last-quarter Moon rises around midnight. For moonrise and moonset at your place, see the Moon tonight, and read dark adaptation and light pollution.