Moon phases in October 2020
All 31 days, computed from the ephemeris rather than copied from another calendar: the Moon’s sign, the exact instant it changes sign, and the lit fraction of the disc. Shown in your own timezone.
- Harvest MoonOctober 19.1° Aries
- New MoonOctober 1623.9° Libra
- Hunter's MoonOctober 318.6° Taurus
Day by day
The four quarter instants are marked on the day they fall; every other day carries the interval it is in. Four of the eight phases are moments and four are stretches, which is the one thing most calendars leave out.
| Date | Phase | Sign | Illumination | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | Full Moon | Pisces→Aries | 100% | ||
| Fri 2 | Waning Gibbous | Aries | 100% | ||
| Sat 3 | Waning Gibbous | Aries→Taurus | 98% | ||
| Sun 4 | Waning Gibbous | Taurus | 94% | ||
| Mon 5 | Waning Gibbous | Taurus | 89% | ||
| Tue 6 | Waning Gibbous | Taurus→Gemini | 82% | ||
| Wed 7 | Waning Gibbous | Gemini | 74% | ||
| Thu 8 | Waning Gibbous | Gemini→Cancer | 65% | ||
| Fri 9 | Waning Gibbous | Cancer | 55% | ||
| Sat 10 | Last Quarter | Cancer | 45% | ||
| Sun 11 | Waning Crescent | Cancer→Leo | 35% | ||
| Mon 12 | Waning Crescent | Leo | 25% | ||
| Tue 13 | Waning Crescent | Leo→Virgo | 16% | ||
| Wed 14 | Waning Crescent | Virgo | 8% | ||
| Thu 15 | Waning Crescent | Virgo→Libra | 3% | ||
| Fri 16 | New Moon | Libra | 0% | ||
| Sat 17 | Waxing Crescent | Libra→Scorpio | 1% | ||
| Sun 18 | Waxing Crescent | Scorpio | 4% | ||
| Mon 19 | Waxing Crescent | Scorpio→Sagittarius | 11% | ||
| Tue 20 | Waxing Crescent | Sagittarius | 19% | ||
| Wed 21 | Waxing Crescent | Sagittarius→Capricorn | 28% | ||
| Thu 22 | Waxing Crescent | Capricorn | 39% | ||
| Fri 23 | First Quarter | Capricorn→Aquarius | 49% | ||
| Sat 24 | Waxing Gibbous | Aquarius | 60% | ||
| Sun 25 | Waxing Gibbous | Aquarius→Pisces | 69% | ||
| Mon 26 | Waxing Gibbous | Pisces | 78% | ||
| Tue 27 | Waxing Gibbous | Pisces | 85% | ||
| Wed 28 | Waxing Gibbous | Pisces→Aries | 91% | ||
| Thu 29 | Waxing Gibbous | Aries | 96% | ||
| Fri 30 | Waxing Gibbous | Aries→Taurus | 99% | ||
| Sat 31 | Full Moon | Taurus | 100% | ||
Rows are UTC calendar days. The exact times follow the timezone setting above, so a time close to midnight can belong to the neighbouring day in your own zone.
- 2
- Full moons
- 1
- New moons
- 14
- Sign changes
- 100%
- Brightest night
The Moon passes through 14 signs this month, in order: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus. It changes sign 14 times — roughly every two and a third days, though not evenly, because the Moon’s speed varies about twelve per cent over an orbit.
Two full moons this month
October 2020 carries a full moon on October 1 and another on October 31. The second one is a Blue Moon in the modern, month-based sense — the extra one the twelve traditional names have no slot for. It is not the older seasonal definition, which gives different dates, and nothing about the Moon looks any different.
This month’s full moon is the Harvest Moon
The Harvest Moon is the full moon falling nearest the September equinox — a rule about the sky, not a slot in a month table. That is why it moves between September and October from year to year, and why a calendar that reads the name off a fixed twelve-row list gets it wrong in the years it lands in October.
Frequently asked questions
When is the full moon in October 2020?
There are 2 in October 2020. The exact instants are in the table above, shown in your own timezone, with the degree and sign each one falls on.
When is the new moon in October 2020?
There are 1 in October 2020, listed to the minute in the table above along with every other phase of the month.
What timezone are these times in?
Your own, resolved in your browser. The rows are UTC calendar days, so an instant close to midnight can belong to the neighbouring day once converted — the table marks those with a small +1 or −1. You can switch the whole page to UTC if you want to compare it against a site that publishes UTC.
What sign is the Moon in during October 2020?
It moves through 14 of them, changing sign 14 times. The exact instant of each change is in the sign column above. The Moon spends about two and a third days in a sign, which is why it covers the whole zodiac in a month while the Sun takes a year.