January 2021
- Last quarterWed 6 Jan, 09:37
- New moonWed 13 Jan, 05:00
- First quarterWed 20 Jan, 21:02
- Full moonThu 28 Jan, 19:16
Lunar calendar
Moon phases 2021
The lunar calendar for 2021: 12 new moons and 12 full moons, month by month, with a calendar of the Moon’s phase on each day that you can print.
Moon phases 2021 · times in UTC
February 2021
- Last quarterThu 4 Feb, 17:37
- New moonThu 11 Feb, 19:06
- First quarterFri 19 Feb, 18:47
- Full moonSat 27 Feb, 08:17
March 2021
- Last quarterSat 6 Mar, 01:30
- New moonSat 13 Mar, 10:21
- First quarterSun 21 Mar, 14:40
- Full moonSun 28 Mar, 18:48
April 2021
- Last quarterSun 4 Apr, 10:02
- New moonMon 12 Apr, 02:31
- First quarterTue 20 Apr, 06:59
- Full moonTue 27 Apr, 03:31
May 2021
- Last quarterMon 3 May, 19:50
- New moonTue 11 May, 19:00
- First quarterWed 19 May, 19:13
- Full moonWed 26 May, 11:14
June 2021
- Last quarterWed 2 Jun, 07:24
- New moonThu 10 Jun, 10:53
- First quarterFri 18 Jun, 03:54
- Full moonThu 24 Jun, 18:40
July 2021
- Last quarterThu 1 Jul, 21:11
- New moonSat 10 Jul, 01:17
- First quarterSat 17 Jul, 10:11
- Full moonSat 24 Jul, 02:37
- Last quarterSat 31 Jul, 13:16
August 2021
- New moonSun 8 Aug, 13:50
- First quarterSun 15 Aug, 15:20
- Full moonSun 22 Aug, 12:02
- Last quarterMon 30 Aug, 07:13
September 2021
- New moonTue 7 Sept, 00:52
- First quarterMon 13 Sept, 20:39
- Full moonMon 20 Sept, 23:55
- Last quarterWed 29 Sept, 01:57
October 2021
- New moonWed 6 Oct, 11:05
- First quarterWed 13 Oct, 03:25
- Full moonWed 20 Oct, 14:57
- Last quarterThu 28 Oct, 20:05
November 2021
- New moonThu 4 Nov, 21:15
- First quarterThu 11 Nov, 12:46
- Full moonFri 19 Nov, 08:58
- Last quarterSat 27 Nov, 12:28
December 2021
- New moonSat 4 Dec, 07:43
- First quarterSat 11 Dec, 01:36
- Full moonSun 19 Dec, 04:36
- Last quarterMon 27 Dec, 02:24
Where you are
Moonrise and moonset in your city
The phase is the same everywhere; moonrise and moonset are not. Open the sun and moon page of your city for today’s times and a month of phases.
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- Type a city, a country or a zone such as “CET” or “Tokyo”.
How it works
The four principal phases
The Moon passes through four principal phases in about 29.5 days: new moon (Moon between Earth and Sun, unlit side towards us), first quarter (half the disc lit, on the right seen from the northern hemisphere), full moon (the whole disc lit) and last quarter (half lit, on the left). The days in between are crescent and gibbous, waxing before full moon and waning after it.
A lunar cycle lasts 29.53 days on average, but individual cycles range from about 29.3 to 29.8 days, so a year holds 12 or 13 of each principal phase, and the days between the four phases are not always the same.
Dates depend on the time zone
Each principal phase is one instant, the same everywhere. The calendar date of that instant depends on the time zone: a new moon at 23:30 UTC is already the next day in Asia and Australia. Use the switch above the calendar to read the dates in UTC or in your own zone; the grids and the lists change together.
The phase drawn for an ordinary day is the Moon at noon, so it is the same for everyone in that time zone. Illuminated percentages are the true lit fraction of the disc.
How we compute it
The principal phases are from Jean Meeus’s Astronomical Algorithms (chapter 49) and agree with the US Naval Observatory’s tables to the minute (checked for 2026 and 2027). The illuminated fraction comes from the Moon’s and Sun’s true positions. The calculation assumes a constant difference between Earth time and UTC and is good for 2000–2050.
Questions
Good to know
What are the moon phases in 2021?
There are 12 new moons, 12 first quarters, 12 full moons and 13 last quarters in 2021. The first new moon is on Wednesday, 13 January 2021, the first full moon on Thursday, 28 January 2021 (dates in UTC).
How long is the lunar cycle?
The Moon takes 29.53 days on average to go from one new moon to the next, and individual cycles range from about 29.3 to 29.8 days.
Why does the date of a moon phase differ from another calendar?
A principal phase is a single instant, and the date depends on the time zone. Switch the calendar to your own time zone to read the phases in local time.
Can I print the moon phase calendar?
Yes. Use “Print this calendar”: the page prints on white paper in light ink, six months to a page, with the principal phases marked.
Is the Moon’s phase the same everywhere?
Yes, the same fraction of the disc is lit at the same moment everywhere on Earth. Only the date, and how the Moon looks (upside down in the south), differ.