- 5 Oct, 00:06 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 13 Oct, 03:05 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 20 Oct, 23:31 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 27 Oct, 14:05 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Hunter’s Moon.
- During October 2015 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 26 November 2015 (November 2015).
Moon phase times, October 2015
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 5 Oct | Last quarter | 00:06 | 21:06 |
| Tue 13 Oct | New moon | 03:05 | 00:05 |
| Tue 20 Oct | First quarter | 23:31 | 20:31 |
| Tue 27 Oct | Full moon · Hunter’s Moon | 14:05 | 12:05 |
The sky: October 2015
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Thu 8 Oct | The Moon near Venus | About 0.7° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Thu 8 Oct | Draconids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 14% lit and will not interfere. |
| Fri 9 Oct | The Moon near Mars | About 3.3° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Fri 9 Oct | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.6° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Sat 10 Oct | Southern Taurids meteor shower peak | Up to 5 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 5% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sun 11 Oct | The Moon near Mercury | About 0.9° apart. Look for Mercury next to the Moon. |
| Fri 16 Oct | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 18° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Fri 16 Oct | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.9° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sun 18 Oct | Mars and Jupiter together | Only 0.4° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Wed 21 Oct | Orionids meteor shower peak | Up to 20 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 60% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Sun 25 Oct | Venus and Jupiter together | Only 1.0° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Mon 26 Oct | Venus farthest from the Sun | 46° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
How to read the moon calendar
Each day shows its date, the share of the Moon’s disc that is lit at noon, and the Moon’s shape that day. When a full moon, new moon or quarter falls on a day, it is named at the bottom of the cell.
Illumination is the part of the disc lit by the Sun. It grows from new moon to full moon (waxing) and shrinks from full moon to new moon (waning). Each day opens its own page with every signal for that date.
Full moon dates 2015
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 5 Jan | 04:53 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Wed 4 Feb | 23:09 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Thu 5 Mar | 18:05 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sat 4 Apr | 12:05 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Mon 4 May | 03:42 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Tue 2 Jun | 16:19 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Thu 2 Jul | 02:19 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Fri 31 Jul | 10:42 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Sat 29 Aug | 18:35 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Mon 28 Sep | 02:50 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Tue 27 Oct | 12:05 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Thu 26 Nov | 22:44 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Fri 25 Dec | 11:11 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2015
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 20 Jan | 13:13 | passed |
| Thu 19 Feb | 23:47 | passed |
| Fri 20 Mar | 09:36 | passed |
| Sat 18 Apr | 18:56 | passed |
| Mon 18 May | 04:13 | passed |
| Tue 16 Jun | 14:05 | passed |
| Thu 16 Jul | 01:24 | passed |
| Fri 14 Aug | 14:53 | passed |
| Sun 13 Sep | 06:41 | passed |
| Tue 13 Oct | 00:05 | passed |
| Wed 11 Nov | 17:47 | passed |
| Fri 11 Dec | 10:29 | passed |
The eight moon phases explained
Four principal phases are exact instants; the four in between are the days that connect them.
Solar and lunar eclipses in 2015
No eclipse data for 2015.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in October 2015?
The full moon is on 27 October 2015. Its traditional name is the Hunter’s Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in October 2015?
The new moon is on 13 October 2015. The Moon can’t be seen that night: it sits between Earth and the Sun with its lit side turned away.
What do the percentages mean?
They show how much of the Moon’s disc is lit at noon. 0% is new moon, 100% is full moon and 50% is a quarter.
Why does another calendar give a different date?
A phase is a moment. When it falls near midnight, the date can differ by one day between time zones. This calendar uses Europe/Vilnius time for the days.
How often is there a full moon?
About every 29.5 days. Some months have two; the second is called a Blue Moon.
- Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd ed., Willmann-Bell, 1998, chapters 48 and 49.
- NASA Eclipse Web Site (eclipse dates and visibility).
Numbers update through the day from public sources. The text for each day is written from that day’s data and checked by the editor. Every past day keeps its own page in the archive.