Moonrise and moonset times for any place on Earth
This moonrise and moonset calculator gives the times the Moon rises and sets on any date at any location — pick from more than 90 preset cities, type coordinates, or use your device’s location — together with the compass direction of each event, the time and altitude of the Moon’s highest point, its phase and illumination, and how long it is above the horizon. A seven-day table shows how the times shift from night to night.
Moonrise is the most asked-about lunar event because it is the most photogenic: a full moon climbing out of the horizon at sunset looks enormous and orange. Knowing the minute and the azimuth lets you line it up behind a landmark. Anglers, night hikers, astrophotographers avoiding moonlight and anyone following a lunar calendar use the same numbers. The position of the Moon is computed with Jean Meeus’ lunar theory in your browser, with the Moon’s parallax and standard refraction included, so the results match national almanacs to within a minute or two.
How to use the Moonrise & Moonset Calculator
- Choose a City, or pick “Custom coordinates…” and enter the Latitude and Longitude; Use my location fills them in on a phone.
- Check the Time zone (presets set it automatically) and pick the Date — it starts on today’s date at that location.
- Read moonrise and moonset in the highlighted panel, each with the direction on the horizon; a note explains days when the Moon does not rise or set at all.
- The tiles give the transit time and altitude, the phase at that moment and the total time above the horizon; switch to a 12-hour clock if you prefer.
- Scroll down for the next seven days to see the roughly 50-minute daily shift and the changing rise and set directions.
Moonrise & Moonset Calculator features
Almanac-grade positions
Meeus’ truncated ELP-2000 series for the Moon’s position; rise and set use the standard altitude of 0.7275 π − 34′, which accounts for parallax and refraction exactly as the Astronomical Almanac does.
Directions and altitude
Compass bearing (and degrees) of each rise and set, and how high the Moon climbs at transit, so you can see whether it clears buildings or hills.
Skipped days handled
On the calendar dates when the Moon rises or sets more than 24 hours after the previous one, the calculator says so instead of showing a wrong time.
Polar latitudes
Above the Arctic and Antarctic circles the Moon can stay up or down for days; both cases are reported.
Seven-day table
Rise, direction, set, direction, transit time, transit altitude and illumination for a week from the chosen date.
Private
Coordinates stay on your device; geolocation is only used if you press the button.
Why moonrise moves by about 50 minutes a day
The Moon travels eastward along its orbit by about 13° a day, so the Earth has to turn for roughly 50 extra minutes before the Moon returns to the horizon. The delay is not constant: it depends on how steeply the Moon’s path meets the horizon, which varies with latitude, season and the Moon’s declination. Around the September full moon in the northern hemisphere the delay shrinks to 20–30 minutes — the Harvest Moon effect — while in spring it can exceed 70 minutes. Because the delay is longer than a day’s worth of clock time, roughly once a month there is a calendar date with no moonrise and, two weeks later, one with no moonset.
Moonrise is tied to the phase. A new moon rises and sets with the Sun and is invisible; a first-quarter moon rises around midday and sets around midnight; the full moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise; the last quarter rises around midnight. The moon phase calculator gives the phase and the exact times of each quarter.
Where on the horizon the Moon rises
The rising direction depends on the Moon’s declination, which swings between about ±18.5° and ±28.5° over an 18.6-year cycle. A full moon in December or January has a high northern declination and rises well north of east, climbing high overhead; the June full moon rises south-east and stays low. The calculator reports the azimuth of the Moon’s centre when it crosses the apparent horizon; from a high viewpoint or with hills in the way the actual appearance shifts by a few minutes and a degree or two.
| Phase | Moonrise (approx.) | Moonset (approx.) | Best seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | sunrise | sunset | not visible |
| First quarter | noon | midnight | afternoon and evening |
| Full | sunset | sunrise | all night |
| Last quarter | midnight | noon | early morning |
Accuracy and limits
- Times assume a sea-level horizon and standard refraction (34′); mountains, buildings or an elevated viewpoint change the real moment by minutes.
- The Moon’s large parallax (up to 1°) is included; the top of the disc appears a couple of minutes before the centre, which is what the calculator times.
- Results agree with the Astronomical Almanac and national ephemerides to within one or two minutes for latitudes below about 70°.
- For sunrise, sunset and twilight at the same spot use the sunrise and sunset calculator; for where the Moon sits among the stars, the star chart.
Moonrise & Moonset Calculator FAQ
What time does the Moon rise tonight?
The calculator opens on today’s date for a preset city in your time zone; choose your city or press Use my location and read the moonrise time and direction in the panel.
Why is there no moonrise listed for today?
Because moonrise shifts about 50 minutes later each day, roughly once a month it moves past midnight and a calendar date is skipped. The note says so, and the table shows the previous and next rises.
Why does the full moon look so big at moonrise?
It is an optical illusion: the Moon is the same size near the horizon as overhead (slightly smaller, in fact, because it is farther away). The orange colour is real — the atmosphere scatters blue light out of the low beam.
Does the calculator handle daylight saving time?
Yes. Times are formatted for the chosen IANA time zone on that date, so summer-time switches are automatic.
What does “transit” mean?
The moment the Moon crosses your meridian and is highest in the sky, due south in the northern hemisphere and due north in the southern. The altitude tells you how high it gets.
How accurate are the moonrise and moonset times?
Within one to two minutes of almanac values for a flat horizon. Local terrain is the main source of difference, especially for a rise or set behind hills.