At full moon, we are seeing all of the moon’s day side.
The moon and sun are on a line, with Earth in between. It’s as though Earth is the fulcrum of a seesaw, and the moon and sun are sitting on either end of the seesaw. Thus as the sun sets in the west, the full moon rises. When the sun is below our feet at midnight, the full moon is highest in the sky. When the sun rises again at dawn, the full moon is setting.
Each full moon has its own name:Here are the names of all the full moons
In many ways, a full moon is the opposite of a new moon. At both the new and full phases, the moon is on a line with the Earth and sun. At new moon, the moon is in the middle position along the line. At full moon, Earth is in the middle.
Full moon always comes about two weeks after new moon, when the moon is midway around in its orbit of Earth, as measured from one new moon to the next.
If there is a lunar eclipse, it must happen at full moon. It’s only at the full moon phase that Earth’s shadow, extending opposite the sun, can fall on the moon’s face.
As the moon orbits Earth, it changes phase in an orderly way. Follow these links to understand the various phases of the moon.
Understanding Moon Phases
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Last Quarter
Waning Crescent
New Moon
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When it occurs at/just after midnight when the geocentric apparent (ecliptic) longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees, which moon is the full moon? Tonight’s or tomorrow’s?
Yooki, let’s suppose the crest of the moon’s full phase comes at 1 a.m. on December 1 as seen in your time zone. If your calendar uses your local time zone, your calendar will show December 1 as the date of full moon. If your calendar uses Greenwich Mean Time (as many do), it’ll also show the full moon on December 1. But calendars made for local time zones behind yours might show the full moon on November 30 – because, for those time zones, the full moon came before midnight.
Another issue – how the moon actually looks in the sky. If the full moon comes at 1 a.m. in your time zone, and your calendar therefore shows the after-midnight date as the date of full moon, you might – if you’re not watching the time of full moon – be fooled into thinking the moon looks most full that evening. But in fact the moon would have looked most full the evening before …
So it’s not straightforward! But once you get these few concepts in mind, you’ll always understand when to expect the fullest moon.
Deborah
Thanks a lot! And another issue – how about the full moon that comes at noon?
Yooki, well, a full moon always rises in the east around the time the sun sets in the west – because in order to look full to us on Earth, the moon has to be opposite the sun. So a moon can be full at noon (your local time). You’ll see it rise in the east at sunset as always. Is that what you’re asking?
Deborah
If the full moon comes at noon, which moon looks most full? That evening or the evening before?
If the full moon comes at noon (local time), that evening’s moon will look slightly more full than the moon the evening before. But it will look almost identical to the moon you’ll see in the west before dawn that morning.
The differences here will be very small … almost no perceptible different in the actual appearance of the moon itself. From one evening to the next, however, there will be a noticeable difference in the time of moonrise. The moon rises – on average – about 50 minutes later each day. So – assuming the full moon comes at noon (local time) – you’ll see the moon slightly above the eastern horizon at sunset on the day before full moon. And you’ll see the moon rise into a darkened sky, after sunset, on the day of full moon. If the moon were full precisely at sunset (again, local time) you’d see it rise at sunset – because the full moon is opposite the sun.
Best,
Deborah
Thanks!
Great site!! Love all the information. I have heard of midpoint at the time of the full moon-when one can see both the sun and the moon opposite in the sky in the east and west respectively. does it occur at the day of the full moon or the day before? thanks in advance
Judi,
If you’re wondering if it’s possible to see the sun and the full moon (at the precise moment of full moon) in the same sky together, the answer is yes. But many factors have to add up for this to happen. As you said, the sun and full moon would be in opposite directions, or nearly opposite directions in the sky, so you’d have to catch the sun and full moon near the time of sunrise or sunset. But it’s not real likely that the exact instant of full moon would happen right as the sun is sitting on the horizon.
For simplicity’s sake, let’s say the full moon takes place right as the lower limb of the sun is touching your (level) horizon. Depending on the month and year, the full moon can be anywhere from 5 degrees north to 5 degrees south of the ecliptic – the Earth’s orbital plane. (For reference, the moon’s diameter approximates 1/2 degree.) If you live in the northern hemisphere, and the full moon is appreciably south of the ecliptic, the full moon would be beneath the horizon at the moment that the sun’s lower limb touches the horizon. (If the full moon stands right on the ecliptic, it’d be a total eclipse of the moon.)
However, if you live in the northern hemisphere, and the full moon is appreciably north of the ecliptic, then full moon and the sun can be seen in the same sky together, given that you have an absolutely level horizon.
Bruce
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