How many full moons happen in a year?

Most years have 12 full moons, one per calendar month. Roughly every 2 to 3 years, a 13th full moon squeezes in — the second full moon in a single calendar month is called a Blue Moon. This happens because 12 synodic lunar months total 354 days, leaving 11 days a year unaccounted for; those days accumulate until an extra cycle fits.

What is a supermoon and how often does one happen?

A supermoon is a full moon near perigee — the closest point of the moon's elliptical orbit. Definitions vary, but a common rule (within ~10% of the closest perigee) yields 3 to 4 supermoons per year, usually in 3 to 4 consecutive months as the synodic and anomalistic cycles drift in and out of phase. Supermoons appear about 7% larger and 15% brighter than an average full moon.

Are these times in my local timezone?

All times on this page are UTC. Your local date may shift one day earlier or later depending on your timezone — a full moon at 23:00 UTC falls on the 'next day' for everyone east of GMT and the 'same day' for the Americas. To convert, subtract or add your offset from UTC.

How accurate are these dates?

We use a simplified Conway/Meeus mean-synodic algorithm, accurate to within 2-6 hours of the true new and full moon instants. For calendar dates this is essentially always exact — the rare cases where the true and approximate times straddle midnight UTC are flagged in our internal validation. For sub-minute precision, NASA/JPL's DE-440 ephemeris is the gold standard.

Two definitions coexist. The popular 'monthly' Blue Moon is a second full moon in the same calendar month — a calendar artefact, not an astronomical phenomenon. The older 'seasonal' Blue Moon is the third full moon in a season containing four full moons. Despite the name, neither is actually blue.

Lunar calendar

2026 lunar calendar

All 13 full moons and 12 new moons of 2026, with traditional names, UTC times, supermoon highlights, and eclipses.

Last updated Nov 5, 2026. Moon-year tables are generated from the local lunar-phase model and displayed in UTC. Local calendar dates can differ by timezone, especially for phases near midnight UTC.

2026 at a glance

Full moons

13

New moons

12

Supermoons

1

Eclipses

4

Blue Moon alert: 2026 contains a Blue Moon (second full moon in the same calendar month) on May 31, 2026.

2026 lunar pattern

This year resolves to 13 full moons, 12 new moons, 1 Blue Moon marker, 1 supermoon marker, 4 eclipse events. The month distribution and gap checks below help distinguish this page from a generic phase table: they show where the calendar feels dense, where phases are spaced farther apart, and when eclipse-season pages are relevant.

Full moon months

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

A repeated month signals a monthly Blue Moon candidate; otherwise the full moons distribute one per named month.

New moon months

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

New moons are the practical anchors for lunar-month starts, religious calendars, and dark-sky planning.

Longest full-moon gap

30 days

From Jan 3, 2026 to Feb 2, 2026 in UTC.

Shortest full-moon gap

30 days

From Jan 3, 2026 to Feb 2, 2026 in UTC.

New-moon spacing check

30-30 days

The range is a quick sanity check for the mean synodic model used to generate the table.

Eclipse-season links

4 eclipse pages

Eclipses only happen near new or full moons when the Moon is close to its orbital nodes.

All full moons in 2026

Date (UTC)	Time	Name	Note
Jan 3, 2026	20:15 UTC	Wolf Moon	January's full moon — named for wolves howling in the cold of midwinter.
Feb 2, 2026	08:59 UTC	Snow Moon	February's full moon — named for the deepest snowfalls of the season.
Mar 3, 2026	21:43 UTC	Worm MoonSupermoon	March's full moon — named for earthworms emerging as the soil thaws.
Apr 2, 2026	10:27 UTC	Pink Moon	April's full moon — named for early pink wildflowers (moss phlox), not a pink colour.
May 1, 2026	23:11 UTC	Flower Moon	May's full moon — named for the abundance of spring blossoms.
May 31, 2026	11:55 UTC	Blue Moon	The second full moon in the same calendar month — a Blue Moon.
Jun 30, 2026	00:39 UTC	Strawberry Moon	June's full moon — named for the short strawberry-harvest season.
Jul 29, 2026	13:23 UTC	Buck Moon	July's full moon — named for new antlers growing on male deer.
Aug 28, 2026	02:07 UTC	Sturgeon Moon	August's full moon — named for the Great Lakes sturgeon catch.
Sep 26, 2026	14:51 UTC	Corn Moon	September's full moon — named for the corn harvest (called Harvest Moon when nearest the autumnal equinox).
Oct 26, 2026	03:35 UTC	Hunter's Moon	October's full moon — named for the season of hunting after the harvest.
Nov 24, 2026	16:19 UTC	Beaver Moon	November's full moon — named for beaver-trapping season before the freeze.
Dec 24, 2026	05:03 UTC	Cold Moon	December's full moon — named for the long, cold midwinter nights.

All new moons in 2026

Date (UTC)	Time
Jan 18, 2026	14:37 UTC
Feb 17, 2026	03:21 UTC
Mar 18, 2026	16:05 UTC
Apr 17, 2026	04:49 UTC
May 16, 2026	17:33 UTC
Jun 15, 2026	06:17 UTC
Jul 14, 2026	19:01 UTC
Aug 13, 2026	07:45 UTC
Sep 11, 2026	20:29 UTC
Oct 11, 2026	09:13 UTC
Nov 9, 2026	21:57 UTC
Dec 9, 2026	10:41 UTC

Supermoons in 2026

Worm Moon — Mar 3, 2026
This full moon falls within ~10% of perigee, qualifying as a supermoon. It appears about 7% larger and 15% brighter than an average full moon.

Eclipses in 2026

Annular Solar Eclipse — Feb 17, 2026
Antarctica, southern tip of South America, southern South Atlantic, southern Indian Ocean
Eclipse details
Total Lunar Eclipse — Mar 3, 2026
Pacific Ocean, eastern Asia, Australia, western North America (moonset)
Eclipse details
Total Solar Eclipse — Aug 12, 2026
Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain — partial across Europe, North Africa, and northeastern North America
Eclipse details
Partial Lunar Eclipse — Aug 28, 2026
Americas, western Europe, western Africa
Eclipse details

← 2025 lunar calendar Live moon tonight 2027 lunar calendar →

Related tools

Frequently asked questions

How many full moons happen in a year?: Most years have 12 full moons, one per calendar month. Roughly every 2 to 3 years, a 13th full moon squeezes in — the second full moon in a single calendar month is called a Blue Moon. This happens because 12 synodic lunar months total 354 days, leaving 11 days a year unaccounted for; those days accumulate until an extra cycle fits.
What is a supermoon and how often does one happen?: A supermoon is a full moon near perigee — the closest point of the moon's elliptical orbit. Definitions vary, but a common rule (within ~10% of the closest perigee) yields 3 to 4 supermoons per year, usually in 3 to 4 consecutive months as the synodic and anomalistic cycles drift in and out of phase. Supermoons appear about 7% larger and 15% brighter than an average full moon.
Are these times in my local timezone?: All times on this page are UTC. Your local date may shift one day earlier or later depending on your timezone — a full moon at 23:00 UTC falls on the 'next day' for everyone east of GMT and the 'same day' for the Americas. To convert, subtract or add your offset from UTC.
How accurate are these dates?: We use a simplified Conway/Meeus mean-synodic algorithm, accurate to within 2-6 hours of the true new and full moon instants. For calendar dates this is essentially always exact — the rare cases where the true and approximate times straddle midnight UTC are flagged in our internal validation. For sub-minute precision, NASA/JPL's DE-440 ephemeris is the gold standard.
What's a Blue Moon?: Two definitions coexist. The popular 'monthly' Blue Moon is a second full moon in the same calendar month — a calendar artefact, not an astronomical phenomenon. The older 'seasonal' Blue Moon is the third full moon in a season containing four full moons. Despite the name, neither is actually blue.