How to Calculate the Time of Moonrise Today
Unlike the Sun, the Moon rises at all different times of the day and night. Enjoy our lunar puzzle to know when the Moon will rise! Plus, find out why can we see the Moon during the day.
What is the Definition of Moonrise?
Moonrise is defined as the moment when the upper edge of the Moon’s disk touches the horizon.
Finding Moonrise Times
- Moonrise (and, incidentally, the time of high tide) occurs about 50 minutes later each day than the day before.
- To determine the time of moonrise for each day of the month, just add 50 minutes for each day after a phase or subtract 50 minutes for each day prior to a new phase.
- In following the chart below, care must be taken when using the terms Moon and midnight. These are affected by adjustments for daylight saving time and to a lesser degree by one’s longitude in a particular time zone. (Sunrise and sunset, of course, are definitive times regardless of people’s tamperings with the clock.)
Moonrise Chart
Folks who enjoy the outdoors and the wonders of nature may wish to commit to memory the words on our handy chart below.
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The new Moon always rises near sunrise. |
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The first quarter Moon always rises near noon. |
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The full Moon always rises near sunset. |
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The last quarter Moon always rises near midnight. |
Moonrise Calculator
Of course, you can always check the Almanac’s Moonrise calculator for the exact times in your zip code!
Why Is the New Moon Invisible?
The new Moon is invisible because it is approximately between Earth and the Sun, so the dark half of the Moon is facing us and the sunlit half is facing the Sun. (Sometimes, the new Moon is directly in front of the Sun, in which case we’d see a solar eclipse.)
One or two days after the date of the new Moon, we can see it in the western sky as a thin crescent setting just after sunset.
Why Can We See the Moon During the Day?
Have you ever seen the Moon during the day? Just like the stars and planets, the Moon is not simply a nighttime object. It’s there during the daytime, too.
One reason we can’t see the Moon during the day is because the Sun is so bright!
Another reason is because it depends on which phase it is in. As the Moon and Earth orbit, the Moon is only visible above the horizon roughly 12 hours out of every 24 hours. However, those 12 hours may not coincide with daylight hours, so for any chance of observing, there is only a small 6-hour timeframe.
The best Moon phase for seeing the Moon during daylight is the First Quarter and Last Quarter, when the Moon is 90 degrees away from the Sun in the sky. Near the New Moon, it’s too close to the Sun to be visible and when it is near the full Moon, it is only visible at night after the Sun sets.
More Moon Facts
A little confused about some of these Moon terms? Check out our glossary of lunar terms.
Why does the Moon sometimes look so big when it’s rising? Find out!
Find out your Moonrise and set times, and also your Sunrise and set times.
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The Moonbeam was a pretty gold-silver hue~(large moonbeam seen Jan. 24th); (Conn.);
Although I missed the setting Moon behind the White Pines; there was a huge Moonbeam before Moonset; it was behind hte moon beaming upward; up into the sky; a pretty oold-silver hue~
when moon rise?
Stars actually NEVER appear in FRONT of the moon!
Correct. As mentioned in the first comment below, the stars are just a decorative icon, not an astronomical representation.
It seems a lot more chaotic than the 50 minutes rule:
Moonrise, Moonset and Meridian Passing in Norwich UK 2015
Feb 14 3:16 AM 12:09 PM - 7:43 AM
Feb 15 4:13 AM 1:08 PM - 8:40 AM
Feb 16 5:04 AM 2:17 PM - 9:38 AM
Feb 17 5:48 AM 3:34 PM - 10:37 AM
Feb 18 6:25 AM 4:56 PM - 11:36 AM
Feb 19 6:59 AM 6:20 PM - 12:33 PM
Feb 20 7:29 AM 7:43 PM - 1:29 PM
The moon rises and sets in all sorts of directions and is up for various amounts of time. I presume there's a pattern similar to that of the sun but IÂ can't imagine the set-up well enough to imagine and understand it.
Meridian Passing time seems fairly well ordered, about 56 to 59 minutes later each day but still not the 50 minutes.
Help ? :-)
The 50-minute rule is a very general guideline. The exact timing of moonrise/set will be dependent on several factors, including longitude, latitude, season, and moon phase. Hope this helps!
been following 6pm moons since august actually. i am a moony.
i'm like whoa! from direct south, to direct east points, the moon rises a one league to the east every night, traveling westerly through out the night. ....after the 6 full moons arriving more easterly every night, are many no moon nights at 6pm. except for the last of these, the moon will show its shiny face in the morning. the morning moons. ..back to whoa: 8 nights between point south to point east, until Feb. was i surprised in February, that there were only 7 nights! 28 days, dugh. As we know February does. Except March is 6 nights, [and more confusion to confusing to write here], regarding where the moon is seen twice at the same points near direct west, south, so on. There are 31 days in March.
Is there some explainable typical March reason for this?
Wrong. The New Moon is invisible because the side facing the Earth is completely UNLIT by the sun. At that time, the Sun is fully lighting the moon's FAR side. The Sun never blots out the Moon. Of course, the Moon can blot out the Sun occasionally, causing Solar eclipses
You are entirely correct. We apologize for the error and have updated the article. Thank you for your feedback!
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