Full moon September 2026: Harvest Moon in Aries

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 Lagos, at 89°, and lowest in London, at 44°.

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 Harvest Moon

The full moon nearest the September equinox. For a few evenings around it the Moon rises soon after sunset, giving farmers extra light to bring the harvest in.

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 3°37′ Aries, the Moon actually stands in front of Pisces, the fishes, not the constellation Aries is named after. The Sun, on the far side of the sky at 3°37′ Libra, is in front of Virgo.

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

How close is the Moon?

At 379,423 km from Earth, this is the 6th closest of the 13 full moons of 2026. It looks 7% wider than the farthest full moon of the year, on 31 May 2026, a difference that is easier to measure than to see.

Perigee, the closest point of this orbit, comes on 1 October 2026 at 20:52 UTC, 5 days after the exact full moon, at 369,324 km. Apogee, the farthest point, comes on 19 September 2026 at 404,210 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.

The tightest contact is a sextile from Pluto, 0.5° from exact. A sextile from Pluto offers an opening that is easy to miss if you are not looking. With Neptune right beside the Moon, its themes tend to blend into the feel of these days. A trine from Mars tends to make its themes easy to draw on. Saturn, Uranus, 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 in the evening sky after sunset, in front of Virgo.
• Venus is in the evening sky after sunset, in front of Virgo.
• Mars is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Cancer.
• Jupiter is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Leo.
• Saturn is up most of the night, in front of Cetus.

Eclipse season

The Moon is 34.1° 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 annular solar eclipse at the new moon of February 2027.

What the lunar nodes are

This lunar cycle

This full moon is the peak of the cycle that began with the new moon in Virgo on 11 September 2026. The cycle ends with the new moon on 10 October 2026.

A full moon in Aries

With the Sun opposite in Libra, this full moon pulls between what you want and what keeps the peace. Notice where you have been agreeable at your own expense, and where a little courage would help.

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

When the Moon is in Aries

Days with the Moon in Aries tend to feel quick and impatient. They're good for starting things, moving your body and saying what you mean, and less good for waiting around.

More about the Moon in Aries

The same moon in other years

• Last yearFull moon September 2025, Pisces
• Next yearFull moon September 2027, Pisces
• Next full moon in AriesFull moon October 2027, Aries