Moon Rise & Set Calculator

Moonrise and moonset depend on your latitude, longitude, date, and the moon’s position along its orbit. Unlike the sun, which rises and sets on a predictable daily schedule, the moon can rise and set at any hour and may not appear on every calendar day at high latitudes — polar regions can skip moonrise for days at a time.

This calculator uses astronomy-engine to search for the next moonrise and moonset after your chosen date at the given coordinates. Times display in local mean solar time for your longitude — approximate, without daylight saving adjustments or atmospheric refraction refinements that almanacs apply for precision navigation.

The moon moves roughly 12–13 degrees eastward per day against the star background, so moonrise typically shifts later by about 50 minutes each day — but that drift varies from under 30 minutes to over 70 minutes depending on phase and season. Never assume yesterday’s moonrise time repeats tomorrow without recalculating.

Phase and rise time interact: a full moon often rises near sunset and sets near sunrise, making it visible all night at mid-latitudes. A thin crescent may follow the sun closely and set shortly after dusk. Photography planning needs both phase brightness and the clock time the moon clears the horizon.

Horizon obstructions — hills, buildings, trees — delay visible rise even when the ephemeris says the moon crossed the geometric horizon. Atmospheric refraction lifts the apparent disk by about half a degree, slightly earlier than geometric rise. This tool does not model your local skyline.

Daylight saving time can shift civil clock labels by an hour without changing astronomical reality. Verify whether your locale observes DST on the chosen date and adjust mentally if you compare against a standard-time almanac. Mobile planetarium apps usually handle DST automatically. Boaters and pilots should use official publications — approximate rise times are not certified for navigation safety.

The moon's orbital inclination means it sometimes rides far north or south in the sky, changing how long it stays above your horizon compared with the sun's seasonal path. Latitude strongly affects whether a given rise time feels early morning or mid-afternoon.

Worked example: at mid-latitude coordinates on a date near first quarter, you might see moonrise in the afternoon and moonset after midnight — very different from a full-moon night. Enter your actual latitude and longitude, pick your planning date, and treat the output as a starting point before critical photography, boating, or event scheduling.