- 6 Oct, 16:47 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 14 Oct, 20:55 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 22 Oct, 06:29 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 28 Oct, 23:24 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Hunter’s Moon.
- During October 2023 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 27 November 2023 (November 2023).
Moon phase times, October 2023
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 6 Oct | Last quarter | 16:47 | 13:47 |
| Sat 14 Oct | New moon | 20:55 | 17:55 |
| Sun 22 Oct | First quarter | 06:29 | 03:29 |
| Sat 28 Oct | Full moon · Hunter’s Moon | 23:24 | 20:24 |
The sky: October 2023
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Mon 2 Oct | The Moon near Jupiter | About 3.1° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Sun 8 Oct | Draconids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 28% lit and will not interfere. |
| Tue 10 Oct | Southern Taurids meteor shower peak | Up to 5 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 15% lit and will not interfere. |
| Tue 10 Oct | The Moon near Venus | About 5.9° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Sat 21 Oct | Orionids meteor shower peak | Up to 20 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 45% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Tue 24 Oct | Venus farthest from the Sun | 46° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Tue 24 Oct | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.5° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sun 29 Oct | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.9° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
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 2023
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 7 Jan | 23:08 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sun 5 Feb | 18:28 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Tue 7 Mar | 12:40 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Thu 6 Apr | 04:34 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Fri 5 May | 17:34 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sun 4 Jun | 03:41 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Mon 3 Jul | 11:38 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Tue 1 Aug | 18:31 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Thu 31 Aug | 01:35 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Fri 29 Sep | 09:57 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sat 28 Oct | 20:24 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Mon 27 Nov | 09:16 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Wed 27 Dec | 00:33 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2023
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 21 Jan | 20:53 | passed |
| Mon 20 Feb | 07:05 | passed |
| Tue 21 Mar | 17:23 | passed |
| Thu 20 Apr | 04:12 | passed |
| Fri 19 May | 15:53 | passed |
| Sun 18 Jun | 04:37 | passed |
| Mon 17 Jul | 18:31 | passed |
| Wed 16 Aug | 09:38 | passed |
| Fri 15 Sep | 01:39 | passed |
| Sat 14 Oct | 17:55 | passed |
| Mon 13 Nov | 09:27 | passed |
| Wed 13 Dec | 23:32 | 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 2023
No eclipse data for 2023.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in October 2023?
The full moon is on 28 October 2023. 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 2023?
The new moon is on 14 October 2023. 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.