The next full moon will occur on Saturday, April 16 at 2:55 p.m. (1855 GMT), but the moon will appear full the night before and after its peak to the casual stargazer. The April full moon is also known as the Full Pink Moon.
The full moon shows its face to Earth about once a month. Well, sort of.
Most of the time, the full moon is not perfect. We always see the same side of the moon, but it is shadowed due to the moon's rotation. When the moon, Earth and the sun are all in alignment, there is a lunar eclipse.
And sometimes — once in a blue moon — the moon is full twice in a month (or four times in a season, depending on which definition you prefer).
You can prepare for the next full moon or eclipse with our guide on how to photograph a lunar eclipse, as well as how to photograph the moon with a camera in general, can help you make the most of the event. If you need imaging gear, consider our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography to make sure you're ready for the next eclipse.
We have guides for the best binoculars and telescopes to help you see the moon.
You can see the night sky for the rest of the month.
This is when the full moons will occur.
| Date | Name | U.S. Eastern Time | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 17 | Wolf Moon | 6:48 p.m. | 23:48 |
| February 16 | Snow Moon | 11:57 a.m. | 16:57 |
| March 18 | Worm Moon | 3:17 am. | 07:17 |
| April 16 | Pink Moon | 2:55 p.m. | 18:55 |
| May 16 | Flower Moon | 12:14 a.m. | 04:14 |
| June 14 | Strawberry Moon | 7:52 a.m. | 11:52 |
| July 13 | Buck Moon | 2:37 p.m. | 18:37 |
| August 11 | Sturgeon Moon | 9:36 p.m. | 01:36 Aug. 12 |
| September 10 | Harvest Moon | 5:59 a.m. | 09:59 |
| October 9 | Hunter's Moon | 4:55 p.m. | 20:55 |
| November 8 | Beaver Moon | 6:02 a.m. | 11:02 |
| December 7 | Cold Moon | 11:08 p.m. | 4:08 (Dec. 8) |
Each month's full moon has a distinct name. The names were applied for the entire month. The Farmer's Almanac has a list of names that are used in the United States. The same moon names were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior. European settlers created their own names.
Some Native American people had different names. In the book This Day in North American Indian History, author Phil Konstantin lists more than 50 native peoples and their names for full moons. He has a website called American Indian.net.
A list of the moon names of other cultures can be found on the website of an amateur astronomer.
| Month | Name | Month | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Holiday Moon | July | Hungry Ghost Moon |
| February | Budding Moon | August | Harvest Moon |
| March | Sleepy Moon | September | Chrysanthemum Moon |
| April | Peony Moon | October | Kindly moon |
| May | Dragon Moon | November | White Moon |
| June | Lotus Moon | December | Bitter Moon |
Harvest Moon occurs at the end of the growing season in September or October, and the Cold Moon occurs in December. It works that way in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Harvest Moon occurs in March and the Cold Moon occurs in June in the Southern Hemisphere. These are names for full moons south of the equator.
January: Hay Moon, Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Mead Moon
February (mid-summer): Grain Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon, Wyrt Moon, Corn Moon, Dog Moon, Barley Moon
March: Harvest Moon, Corn Moon
April: Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon, Blood Moon
May: Hunter’s Moon, Beaver Moon, Frost Moon
June: Oak Moon, Cold Moon, Long Night’s Moon
July: Wolf Moon, Old Moon, Ice Moon
August: Snow Moon, Storm Moon, Hunger Moon, Wolf Moon
September: Worm Moon, Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Sugar Moon, Chaste Moon, Sap Moon
October: Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Seed Moon, Pink Moon, Waking Moon
November: Corn Moon, Milk Moon, Flower Moon, Hare Moon
December: Strawberry Moon, Honey Moon, Rose Moon
The moon travels around Earth every 27.3 days. It takes 27 days for the moon to be on its axis. There is no dark side of the moon and it shows us the same face. When we look at the moon, it is reflected sunlight that illuminates it. Sometimes the moon rises during daylight and other times at night, but on average it rises 50 minutes later each day.
There are four phases of the moon, a new moon, a first quarter moon, and a full moon.
The side of the moon facing toward us is lit by dim sunlight reflected from Earth, because the moon is between Earth and the sun.
As the moon moves around Earth, the side we can see gradually becomes more illuminated. The crescent is waxing.
The first quarter of the year is when the moon is 90 degrees away from the sun in the sky and half-illuminated.
The area of illumination continues to increase. More than half of the moon appears to be getting light. The waxing gibbous moon is a phase.
The sun, Earth and the moon form a line when the moon moves 180 degrees. The moon's disk is so close to the sun that it is called a full moon.
The amount of sunlight on the moon's face is decreasing as the moon moves. The waning gibbous phase is what this is.
The moon has moved another quarter of the way around Earth. The sun's light is shining on the other side of the moon.
Less than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight, as the moon moves into the waning crescent phase.
The moon moves back to its previous position. Earth and the moon are not in the same plane of the sun. Sometimes the moon passes right in front of the sun, and we get an eclipse of the sun.
Each full moon is calculated to occur at an exact moment, which may or may not be near the time the moon rises where you are. A casual skywatcher won't notice the difference when a full moon rises, because it's usually done before or after the actual time when it's technically full. The moon will look the same on two nights in a row.
The full moon is tied to lunar eclipses.
When the moon is in its full phase, it passes behind the Earth with respect to the sun and can create a lunar eclipse. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is fully inside the Earth's shadow. Sometimes the moon passes through the Earth's shadow in a partial or even penumbral lunar eclipse.
There are two lunar eclipses in the year of 2022, one on May 16 and the other on November 8.
There will be a total lunar eclipse on May 16. It will start at 9:32 pm. According to NASA's Eclipse website, the time is about 5 hours and 18 minutes. The eclipse will end at 12:14 a.m. On May 17th, at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirmatively at Affirm
The total lunar eclipse will be visible in Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean and the Americas. It will start at 3:02 a.m. The time is about 5 hours, 53 minutes with a total time of 1 hour, 24 minutes. It will peak at 6 a.m. The time is 1100 GMT.
The moon doesn't line up with the Earth's shadow every month and we don't have a lunar eclipse every month.
The side of the Earth facing the sun is dark when the moon is in its new phase.
Occasionally, the moon and the sun can be seen in opposite directions, and the sun can be blocked by the moon as seen from Earth. A total solar eclipse can be seen when the moon completely blocks the sun's disk. Sometimes the moon can only partially block the sun.
When the moon passes in front of the sun, it can create a ring of fire, but it is too far away to fully cover the sun's disk. This leaves a ring around the moon to make a solar eclipse.
A partial solar eclipse will take place on April 30 and a partial solar eclipse will take place on October 25.
The partial solar eclipse of April 30 will be visible from parts of the southeastern Pacific Ocean and southern South America. It will start at 1:45 p.m. The end is at 6:37 p.m. According to NASA's solar eclipse page, the sun will be setting at 2 pm.
There will be a partial solar eclipse on October 25. It will start at 4:58 a.m. The last time was at 9:02 a.m. The time is 1302 GMT.
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