Full moon August 2025: Sturgeon Moon in Aquarius

What time is it where you are?

The same instant falls on different dates around the world, so check the date as well as the time.

Moonrise and the highest point

A full moon rises around sunset and climbs highest around the middle of the night. These are the moonrise nearest the exact moment and the Moon's highest point after it, in local time.

Of these cities, it rides highest in São Paulo, at 86°, and lowest in London, at 23°.

Height is the angle above the horizon, where 90° would be straight overhead. A full moon near the horizon is the same size as a high one. It only looks bigger.

Why it's called the Sturgeon Moon

Named for the lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes, which were easiest to catch in late summer.

The stars behind this full moon

Signs follow the seasons and constellations are patterns of stars, and the two have drifted apart over the centuries. At 17°00′ Aquarius, the Moon actually stands in front of Capricornus, the sea goat, not the constellation Aquarius is named after. The Sun, on the far side of the sky at 16°59′ Leo, is in front of Cancer.

More about CapricornusWhy signs and constellations differSee the real sky at your own birth

How close is the Moon?

At 380,046 km from Earth, this is the 5th closest of the 12 full moons of 2025. It looks 7% wider than the farthest full moon of the year, on 13 April 2025, a difference that is easier to measure than to see.

Perigee, the closest point of this orbit, comes on 14 August 2025 at 17:58 UTC, 5 days after the exact full moon, at 369,277 km. Apogee, the farthest point, comes on 1 August 2025 at 404,150 km.

The planets at this full moon

Where everything else stands at the exact moment, and any major aspect each planet makes to the Moon, using the same orbs Hali uses in every chart.

No planet makes a major aspect to the Moon at this full moon, so it reads as the Sun and Moon on their own. Mercury, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto are retrograde at this moment.

Planets to look for

The bright Moon washes out faint stars, but the planets still shine through.

• Mercury is too close to the Sun to see.
• Venus is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Gemini.
• Mars is in the evening sky after sunset, in front of Virgo.
• Jupiter is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Gemini.
• Saturn is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Pisces.

Eclipse season

The Moon is 31.6° from the North Node, one of the two points where its path crosses the Sun's. Eclipses only happen when a new or full moon falls near a node, so this one falls outside eclipse season. The next eclipse is the total lunar eclipse at the full moon of September 2025.

What the lunar nodes are

This lunar cycle

This full moon is the peak of the cycle that began with the new moon in Leo on 24 July 2025. The cycle ends with the new moon on 23 August 2025.

A full moon in Aquarius

With the Sun opposite in Leo, this full moon is about friends, groups and the future you are working towards. Notice where you want to fit in and where you need to stand apart.

Astrology reads full and new moons as moments for reflection, not predictions. Take what helps and leave the rest.

When the Moon is in Aquarius

Aquarius Moon days feel detached and inventive. They suit friends, group plans, new ideas and stepping back to see the bigger picture.

More about the Moon in Aquarius

The same moon in other years

• Next yearFull moon August 2026, Pisces
• Next full moon in AquariusFull moon July 2026, Aquarius