The closest full Moon of 2026

54 nights to go

23 December 2026 to 24 December 2026 · All night

The Moon that night: 100% lit. If the sky is clear.

The Moon is full on the evening of 23 December 2026 and still almost full on Christmas Eve. It is the closest full Moon of the year, about 356,700 km away: a little bigger and brighter than usual, though most people can't tell by eye.

Just before Christmas the Moon is full and close to Earth. It is very bright. Look east when the Sun goes down.

The Moon's path around Earth is an oval, so sometimes it is closer. When a full Moon happens near the closest point, people call it a supermoon. It looks a little bigger and brighter, but only a little.

Astronomy-engine puts the Moon about 356,700 km from Earth's center at full Moon on 24 December 2026 (UTC), against about 405,000 km at its farthest. That makes the disc roughly 14% wider than at its smallest, and up to about 30% brighter, a difference cameras see more easily than eyes.

A large full Moon rising above the Washington skyline. — The supermoon of 3 December 2017 rising over Washington, D.C. Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls (NASA Image and Video Library, public domain).

Where to look

East at sunset, high in the south around midnight.

What to do

Look east at sunset on 23 or 24 December.
Compare it in your head with November's full Moon: it is only about 1% wider, far too little to notice.
Notice instead how bright the snow or ground is in its light.

More sky events

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