Tonight’s full moon is bringing excitement to parts of the world with the appearance of a complete lunar eclipse. For places that aren’t so lucky, tonight’s full moon is still worth studying.
Beyond werewolf folklore, the September full moon marks an important point in the lunar calendar, with seasonal significance. Here’s when it’s due, what it’s called, and what it means.
When is the September full moon?
The September full moon will occur on Sunday, September 7th. The previous full moon was on August 9th.
According to Astronomy.com this month’s full moon will peak at 2:09 a.m. ET.
What is the September full moon called?
Full moons have a name, a tradition that comes from early cultures using the lunar cycle to track time and seasonal changes.
This month’s full moon is known as the Corn Moon, according to Royal Museums Greenwich simply because that’s when crops would be harvested in late summer.
When is the next full moon?
The next full moon is predicted to occur on October 7, 2025, according to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide.
What are the lunar phases?
A full moon is just one day of the lunar phase, which is a 29.5-day cycle of the moon’s orbit. The moon’s phases are how the moon appears from Earth around us. We always see the same side of the moon, but how much of it is illuminated by the sun changes depending on where it is in its orbit. This is how we have full moons, half moons, and moons that appear completely invisible.
There are eight main moon phases and they follow a repeating cycle:
- New Moon – The moon is between the earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it is invisible to the eye).
- Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (northern hemisphere).
- First quarter – Half of the moon is illuminated on the right side. It looks like a half moon.
- Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit, but not yet full.
- Full Moon – The entire face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible.
- Waning Gibbous – The moon begins to lose light on the right side.
- Last Quarter (or Third Quarter) – Another half moon, but now the left side is illuminated.
- Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before fading again.
