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When Will the Moon Rise Tonight?

Horizontal photo of white big moon. Moon is captured during a day time with clear blue sky and few days before full-moon so only small part is hidden in shadow of Earth.
Photo Credit
Tomas Florian/Shutterstock

How to Calculate the Time of Moonrise Today

Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Have you ever wondered what time will the Moon rise today? Unlike the Sun, the Moon rises at varying times of the day and night! Enjoy our lunar puzzle and our fun Moon poem to know when the Moon will rise! Plus, find out why we can 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 moonrise time for each day of the month, add 50 minutes each day after a phase or subtract 50 minutes each day before 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 are definitive times regardless of people tampering with the clock.)

Moonrise Chart

Folks who enjoy the outdoors and the wonders of nature may wish to commit to memorizing the words on our handy chart below.

Read Next
The new Moon always rises near sunrise.
The first quarter Moon always rises near noon.
The full Moon always rises near sunset.
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 faces us, and the sunlit half faces the Sun. (Sometimes, the new Moon is directly in front of the Sun, in which case we would 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.

Moon lunar cycle in night sky, time-lapse concept
Photo: David Carillet/Shutterstock

Why Can We See the Moon During the Day?

Have you ever seen the Moon during the day?  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 typically see the Moon during the day is because the Sun is so bright! 

Another reason is that 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 tiny 6-hour timeframe.

The best Moon phases for seeing the Moon during daylight are the First and Last Quarters, 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.

See your Moon Phase Calendar.

More Facts About the Moon

Are you a little confused about some of this Moon terminology? 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 your Sunrise and set times.

Moon
About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the website companion of The Old Farmer's Almanac. She covers gardening, plants, pest control, soil composition, seasonal and moon c...
Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Oneace C Carter</span> Mon, 07/24/2023 - 00:07
Were my eyes playing tricks on me. Did the moon disappear & reappear between 10:50 -11:25 for about 3-5 min on July 23,2023
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/24/2023 - 15:46

Sometimes the Moon can seem to disappear briefly at night when clouds flow in front of it for a bit. The clouds may not be easily visible, especially when the Moon is not full (and therefore there isn't as much moonlight), and it makes it seem as the Moon is disappearing on its own. Or, if the Moon is close to the horizon, it may be blocked temporarily by something such as a far-off bridge or tree that might not have been easily visible at night. If you were viewing the Moon over a body of water, sometimes a passing ship may obscure it for a moment.

In Eastern Daylight time in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 23, 2023, the Moon (a waxing crescent) rose at about 11 am in the east, crossed the meridian at about 5:10 pm, and set in the west at about 11:09 pm. In Pacific Daylight time in Seattle, Washington, it rose at about 11:34 am, crossed the meridian at about 5:40 pm, and set at about 11:34 pm. So, for the period that you mentioned, between 10:50 and 11:25, the Moon was setting, and likely somewhat close to the horizon, so it may have been obscured for just a few minutes by moving clouds (or a passing ship), or by an object on the horizon briefly as the Moon descended behind it. Perhaps that is what happened? Hope this helps!

 <span>A Rockwell</span> Mon, 01/25/2021 - 09:33
The Moonbeam was a pretty gold-silver hue~(large moonbeam seen Jan. 24th); (Conn.);
<span>A Rockwell</span> Mon, 01/25/2021 - 09:30
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~
<span>Himanshu Rai</span> Wed, 10/19/2016 - 08:08
when moon rise?
<span>Wren Bloom</span> Sat, 02/27/2016 - 11:10
Stars actually NEVER appear in FRONT of the moon!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 02/29/2016 - 13:29

Correct. As mentioned in the first comment below, the stars are just a decorative icon, not an astronomical representation.

 <span>Steve Howe</span> Sat, 02/14/2015 - 13:07
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 I 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 ? :-)
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 02/23/2015 - 12:28

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!

 <span>Edy</span> Sat, 03/15/2014 - 12:27
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?