Full Moon, November 2026

25 nights to go

Tuesday 24 November 2026 · All night

The Moon that night: 99% lit. If the sky is clear.

The Moon is full on Tuesday 24 November 2026. It rises in the east around sunset and is up all night, highest around midnight. The night before and after look almost the same.

On 24 November the Moon is a big round circle. It comes up when the Sun goes down. Look for it in the east.

A full Moon is the side of the Moon facing us, all lit by the Sun, because the Moon is on the far side of Earth from the Sun. That is why it rises as the Sun sets. A full Moon near the ground looks huge, but that is a trick of your eyes.

At full Moon, the Sun, Earth and Moon line up, with Earth in the middle. Because the Moon's orbit is tilted about 5° to Earth's, the Moon usually passes just above or below Earth's shadow, so there is no eclipse most months. The bigger look near the horizon is the Moon illusion: measured, the Moon is the same size.

A bright full Moon rising in a dark sky. — A full Moon rises over the Launch Complex 39 area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, August 2017. Photo: NASA/Kim Shiflett (NASA Image and Video Library, public domain).

Where to look

East at sunset, high in the south around midnight, west at dawn.

What to do

Look east just after sunset for a big, orange Moon near the ground.
Hold up your thumb at arm's length: the Moon is smaller than your thumbnail, whatever it looks like.
Go out again at bedtime and see how far it has climbed.

More sky events

“If it's cloudy, don't worry. The planets will still be there tomorrow night.”