What this calendar shows
This is a moon phases calendar built on real astronomy rather than a static image. Pick a year and it lists the exact date and time (in UTC) of every new moon and full moon, the zodiac sign the Moon is in at each moment, and every solar and lunar eclipse that year with its type and time. A banner at the top tells you the Moon's phase right now and how much of the disk is illuminated.
A new moon is when the Moon sits between the Earth and Sun, so the side facing us is dark and the Moon and Sun share the same ecliptic longitude. A full moon is the opposite: the Earth is between them, the near side is fully lit, and the Moon sits 180° from the Sun. Because the Moon laps the Earth roughly every 29.5 days, there are about 12 of each in a year.
Eclipses are special syzygies: a solar eclipse happens at new moon when the Moon's shadow falls on Earth, and a lunar eclipse at full moon when the Moon passes into Earth's shadow. They don't occur every month only because the Moon's orbit is tilted about 5° to the ecliptic — eclipses need the new or full moon to happen near where the two orbits cross.
How the times are calculated
Lunation moments are the instants when the Moon–Sun elongation hits exactly 0° (new) or 180° (full). We solve for those crossings directly against the ELP lunar theory and VSOP87 solar theory in the astronomy-engine library, which places the Moon to well under an arc-minute. The sign shown is the Moon's tropical ecliptic longitude at that instant.
Eclipse events are found with astronomy-engine's eclipse searchers, which model the shadow geometry and report the moment of greatest eclipse; for solar eclipses we also give the geographic point where that maximum falls. Times are UTC — a local time is just a subtraction of your offset, so we keep everything in one unambiguous zone.
Because these are pure ephemeris calculations, the table for a given year never changes: it is the same whether you load it today or next year. That is why we can present it as a dependable calendar rather than an approximation.
What's in the calendar
For your chosen year you get:
- Every new moon and full moon with date, UTC time and the Moon's sign and degree.
- The current phase, illumination percentage and lunar elongation.
- Every solar and lunar eclipse, with type (penumbral, partial, annular or total) and time.
- The point of greatest eclipse for solar events, as a latitude and longitude.
What 2026 looks like
As a concrete example of the output, the 2026 calendar computed by this engine carries twelve new moons and thirteen full moons, and exactly four eclipses: an annular solar eclipse on 17 February, a total lunar eclipse on 3 March, a total solar eclipse on 12 August, and a partial lunar eclipse on 28 August. That four-eclipse total, alternating near the nodes of the Moon's orbit, is a typical year.
You can step to any year in the calculator and the lists recompute instantly — the same maths that produced 2026 runs on 2024 or 2030.
How people use a moon calendar
Moon calendars get used for a lot of practical things: planning gardening by the traditional 'waxing for planting, waning for pruning' rule, scheduling the visible sliver for astronomy, timing tides (which track the Moon), or simply knowing when the next full moon falls for an event. Astrologically, new moons mark seeding intent and full moons mark culmination and release — a rhythm many people use for reflection.
We keep these uses clearly on the 'tradition and practical astronomy' side of the line. The phase, illumination and eclipse times are hard facts; any meaning attached to a new or full moon is cultural, not causal.
Precision and what we don't claim
Lunation times are accurate to the minute and eclipse maxima to a fraction of that, but eclipse 'visibility' depends on where you are on Earth — a total solar eclipse is only total along a narrow track, and a lunar eclipse is visible from an entire hemisphere. We give the moment of greatest eclipse and its geographic point, but you should check a dedicated eclipse map for whether a given eclipse is visible from your location.
Times are UTC. Convert to your local zone before scheduling anything, and remember that a phase that is 'full' at 03:00 UTC is still a full-looking moon to your eye for roughly a day either side.
This calendar vs. an ephemeris table
A printed ephemeris gives the Moon's longitude for every day; this calculator instead gives you the phase events directly, in plain language, for whichever year you pick. If you want the Moon's exact sign and degree on a specific date for your chart, use the natal chart or transits tools, which place the Moon against your personal chart.
Our method in one line
Phase events solved against sub-arcsecond astronomy (VSOP87/ELP via astronomy-engine); eclipses via the library's shadow-geometry searchers. Times in UTC. Reviewed by Dr. Amara Osei, Astronomy Reviewer.
Step by step
- 1
Choose a year
Use the year selector to load that year's new moons, full moons and eclipses.
- 2
Read the current phase
The banner shows tonight's phase, how illuminated the disk is, and the Moon's angular distance from the Sun.
- 3
Check the eclipses
Eclipse entries list the type and the exact UTC time of greatest eclipse, with the geography for solar events.
Frequently asked questions
- How many new and full moons are there in a year?
- Usually twelve of each, because the lunar cycle is about 29.5 days and a year is 365.24 days. Some years have thirteen full moons — the extra one is popularly called a 'blue moon' when two fall in the same calendar month.
- Are these times in my local timezone?
- No, all times are UTC to avoid ambiguity. Subtract (or add) your current offset to get local time. The dates in the tables are the UTC date of each event.
- Will there be an eclipse every new and full moon?
- No. Eclipses need the new or full moon to occur close to a node of the Moon's tilted orbit — otherwise the shadow misses Earth or misses the Moon. That pairing only lines up during roughly two eclipse seasons a year.
- How far ahead can I trust the calendar?
- Because it is pure ephemeris maths, future years are just as exact as past ones — you can select 2030 today and the times will hold. Only eclipse visibility from a specific place needs an extra local check.
- What is a 'blue moon'?
- A blue moon is simply the second full moon to fall inside one calendar month, which happens because thirteen full moons fit into some years while most months hold only one. The name has nothing to do with colour — a moon only looks genuinely blue under rare atmospheric conditions such as fine volcanic ash, a separate and much rarer event.
Written by
Elena Marchetti
Founder & Staff Astrologer
Methodology reviewed by
Dr. Amara Osei
Astronomy Reviewer
Published 2026-10-01 · Updated 2026-10-01 · Calculated with sub-arcsecond astronomy (VSOP87/ELP via astronomy-engine)