Moonrise and moonset times
When the Moon comes up, when it goes down and how high it climbs, for any place on Earth, day by day in local time.
Moon on the first day
- Moonrise
- –
- Moonset
- –
- Highest
- –
| Date | Moonrise | Moonset | Highest | Lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Times are local, rounded to the minute, for a flat sea-level horizon.
Using the times
Pick a city, or choose Coordinates I type in to enter a latitude, longitude and time zone, then a starting date and how many days to list. The chart shows the first day: the curve is the Moon's height, the line across is the horizon, and the shaded part is night. Each row of the table gives that day's moonrise, moonset and the Moon's highest point with its altitude. A dash means the event does not happen that day. The Moon rises later each day, by about 50 minutes on average, so roughly once a month one calendar day has no moonrise and another has no moonset.
What the times mean
Following the US Naval Observatory, moonrise and moonset are the moments the top edge of the Moon touches a flat, sea-level horizon, allowing 34 arcminutes for the bending of light by the air. Highest is the transit, when the Moon crosses your north–south line. Hills, buildings and your own height shift what you see by a few minutes. We tested the results against the Naval Observatory's 2026 tables for London, Sydney and Tromsø: they agree to within about a minute.
Far north and far south
Near the poles the Moon can stay above or below the horizon for days; the table says Up all day or Down all day. On the days clocks change, times are already in the new local time.
Sources
- US Naval Observatory, Rise, Set, and Twilight Definitions and Sun and Moon Data for One Day.
- NASA Science, Moon Phases (when each phase rises and sets).
Questions
Why is there no moonrise today?
Because each moonrise comes later than the one before, one comes just before midnight and the next just after the following midnight, skipping a calendar day. The table shows a dash for it.
Can I see the Moon in daylight?
Often, yes. NASA notes that a first quarter Moon rises around midday, so on a clear afternoon it is already up in the east. The chart shows when it is above the horizon.
Why do other sites differ by a minute?
Rounding, slightly different coordinates for a city and whether elevation is included all move the times by a minute or so.