2024 has 12 full moons. The four main phases — new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter — repeat about every 29.5 days.
Below are the primary moon phases for every month of 2024, the traditional name of each full moon, and a plain-language guide to what the phases mean. Dates use the mean lunar cycle (29.53 days) and can vary by up to a day from your local almanac depending on your time zone. Moon phases also appear directly on our printable monthly calendars.
2024 at a glance: the year's first full moon is the Wolf Moon on January 26, and its last is the Cold Moon on December 15.
The Harvest Moon, the full moon nearest the autumn equinox, rises on September 18.
2024 has twelve full moons, one per month, so there is no blue moon this year.
The 4 Main Moon Phases Explained
The Moon doesn't change shape — we just see different amounts of its sunlit side as it orbits Earth. Over about 29.5 days it moves through four main phases:
● New Moon
The Moon sits between Earth and the Sun, so the side facing us is dark. It's the start of the cycle and the best time for stargazing because the sky is darkest.
◕ First Quarter
About a week later the right half of the Moon is lit (as seen from the northern hemisphere). It rises around midday and sets around midnight. This is a waxing phase, meaning the lit part is growing.
◯ Full Moon
Earth is between the Sun and Moon, so the whole face we see is lit. The full moon rises at sunset and is the brightest, most photographed phase. Each one has a traditional name (see the table below).
◖ Last Quarter
The left half is now lit and shrinking — a waning phase. The Moon rises around midnight and is high in the sky at dawn, before the cycle returns to a new moon.
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Good to know: the in-between shapes have names too — a thin sliver is a crescent and a more-than-half shape is gibbous. On our calendars the symbols ● ◕ ◯ ◖ mark the four main phases on the day they occur.
Full Moons of 2024
2024 has 12 full moons.
Each full moon carries a traditional name from the Farmers' Almanac:
The names in the table — Wolf Moon, Snow Moon, Harvest Moon and the rest — come from Native American and colonial traditions collected by the Old Farmer's Almanac. Each name reflects what was happening in nature that month, like the Wolf Moon of deep winter or the Strawberry Moon of early summer. They're a fun, memorable way to track the year by the sky.
Moon Phases FAQ
How many full moons are in 2024?
2024 has 12 full moons.
What is a blue moon?
A blue moon is the second full moon in one calendar month. 2024 does not have one, since it has the usual twelve full moons.
What are the four main moon phases?
The four primary phases are the new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter. They repeat about every 29.5 days, the length of one lunar cycle.
Are the moon phase dates exact?
They are calculated from the mean lunar cycle and can differ by up to a day from a local almanac, because the exact time depends on your time zone.