The next new moon is 10 October 2026 at 15:49 UTC
The next new moon falls on Saturday, 10 October 2026 at 15:49 UTC, 17 days from now. The one after it is 9 November 2026 at 07:01 UTC, 29.63 days later.
How many days until the next new moon?
17 days, or about 411 hours. The previous new moon was Friday, 11 September 2026 at 03:26 UTC, so the moon is 12.4 days old and currently waxing gibbous. The next full moon, the opposite point of the same cycle, is Saturday, 26 September 2026 at 16:48 UTC.
What is a new moon?
New moon is the instant the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, sharing the same direction in the sky. The half of the moon lit by the Sun is then turned entirely away from us, so there is nothing to see: the moon is in the daytime sky, rising and setting with the Sun, and lost in its glare. A day or two later a thin waxing crescent reappears low in the west after sunset, and that first sighting is what several calendars still use to start a month.
Why is the new moon invisible?
Not because the Earth blocks the light. That is a lunar eclipse, and it happens at full moon. At new moon the geometry is the other way round, with the moon between us and the Sun, presenting its unlit side. The moon's orbit is tilted about five degrees to the Earth's, so at most new moons it passes above or below the Sun rather than across it. When it does line up exactly, the result is a solar eclipse, which is why every solar eclipse in the calendar falls on a new moon and never on any other phase.
The new moon of 10 October 2026 is an ordinary one with no eclipse attached. The solar eclipses of 2026 fall on 17 February 2026 and 12 August 2026.
All 12 new moon dates in 2026
Each calendar month of 2026 gets exactly one new moon, so the year totals 12.
| # | Date | Weekday | Time (UTC) | From today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 January 2026 | Sunday | 19:52 UTC | 248 days ago |
| 2 | 17 February 2026 | Tuesday | 12:01 UTC | 218 days ago |
| 3 | 19 March 2026 | Thursday | 01:23 UTC | 188 days ago |
| 4 | 17 April 2026 | Friday | 11:51 UTC | 159 days ago |
| 5 | 16 May 2026 | Saturday | 20:00 UTC | 130 days ago |
| 6 | 15 June 2026 | Monday | 02:54 UTC | 100 days ago |
| 7 | 14 July 2026 | Tuesday | 09:43 UTC | 71 days ago |
| 8 | 12 August 2026 | Wednesday | 17:36 UTC | 42 days ago |
| 9 | 11 September 2026 | Friday | 03:26 UTC | 12 days ago |
| 10 | 10 October 2026 | Saturday | 15:49 UTC | 17 days away |
| 11 | 9 November 2026 | Monday | 07:01 UTC | 47 days away |
| 12 | 9 December 2026 | Wednesday | 00:51 UTC | 77 days away |
Which meteor showers fall near a new moon in 2026?
3 of the 8 major showers peak in the dark half of the lunar cycle in 2026: Lyrids on 22 April, Perseids on 12 August, Geminids on 14 December. Those are the ones worth planning a night around. The full picture is on meteor showers 2026.
Questions
- When is the next new moon?
- Saturday, 10 October 2026 at 15:49 UTC.
- How many days until the next new moon?
- 17 days.
- Can you see a new moon?
- No. The lit side faces away from Earth and the moon sits in the daytime sky beside the Sun.
- How many new moons are there in 2026?
- 12.
Moon phases by year
The next full moon · Every phase of 2026
More sky dates
Day of the year · Event countdowns · When is it? · Date calculator