Reference tool
Moon phase calendar
Daily moon phase and illumination for the next 30 days.
Short answer
October 2026, day by day
| Date | Lit | Phase |
|---|---|---|
| October 1 | 78% | Waning gibbous |
| October 4 | 45% | Last quarter |
| October 7 | 15% | Waning crescent |
| October 10 | 1% | New moon |
| October 13 | 6% | Waxing crescent |
| October 16 | 26% | Waxing crescent |
| October 19 | 53% | First quarter |
| October 22 | 80% | Waxing gibbous |
| October 25 | 98% | Waxing gibbous |
| October 28 | 95% | Waning gibbous |
| October 31 | 71% | Waning gibbous |
How to use it
- Open the page. The card at the top shows today's phase, illumination, elevation, and distance for New York.
- Below it, the calendar lists the next 30 days. Each cell gives the day of the month and the lit percentage.
- Find the highest percentage for the next full moon and the lowest for the next new moon.
- Reload on another day to move the 30 day window forward.
The lunar cycle
The moon goes from new to full and back in about 29.5 days, the synodic month. The lit share grows through the waxing crescent, first quarter, and waxing gibbous phases, peaks at full moon, then shrinks through the waning phases. Because the cycle is shorter than most calendar months, a month occasionally holds two full moons.
Phase names on this site follow set ranges of the cycle. Full moon, for example, covers the middle 6% of the cycle, so the label can read full for a day on either side of the exact moment.
Reading the calendar
Each cell is one day at the time of day you loaded the page. The day with the highest percentage is the nearest full moon and the lowest is the new moon. For stargazing, the darkest skies come in the days around new moon, when the moon is thin or absent.
How it is computed
The illumination comes from SunCalc, which computes the angle between the sun and moon as seen from Earth. For where the moon is in your sky and when it rises, use the moon position map.
Planning around the phase
Stargazers and astrophotographers aim for the days around new moon, when the sky is darkest. Night hikers prefer the days around full moon for the light. Anglers and gardeners who plan by the moon can use the calendar as a quick reference for the next month.
Questions people ask
Is the phase different in the southern hemisphere?
The lit fraction is the same. The lit side appears flipped left to right compared with the northern hemisphere.
How long is a lunar cycle?
About 29.5 days from new moon to new moon.
Does the calendar use my time zone?
It uses your device's date and time for each day.
Sources and data as of
Data as of: computed with SunCalc.
How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.