The Best Moonrise Of The Month

Have you ever seen a headline about a “supermoon”, “pink moon”, “strawberry moon” or other unusual-sounding moon, and you waited and watched and weren’t impressed?

Aside from a blood moon (a truly bloody-looking lunar eclipse), these full moon names are traditional and don’t relate at all to the moon’s appearance. A “supermoon” appears slightly larger than a typical full moon, but the difference is negligible.

Don’t give up. I have figured out a way to see spectacular moons on a regular basis, moons that look huge and rise against a blue or pink sky. I took the photos in this post on the eve of the full moon, most in this past year. My method:

1. Watch the moon as it first appears at the horizon, not just after it’s fully in the sky. If the moon is as close to the horizon as possible, it appears as large as possible. This is called the “moon illusion”.

2. Look for the moonrise on the calendar day before the full moon. This will show a brighter sky with blue or pink as the backdrop, because the moon will rise earlier in the evening.

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Why do I recommend watching the moonrise on the day before the full moon? As the moon waxes from half moon to full moon, it rises later and later in the day. On the day before the full moon, it rises before sunset, while the sky is still bright even if distant hills or obstructions delay the appearance of the moon.

On the day of the full moon, moonrise is around the same time as sunset, and darkness falls soon after the moon rises.

Among the pleasures of the moonrise is the double mystery of exactly where it will rise and when. It’s possible to calculate this using astronomical data and augmented reality apps, but for me, an approximate time and location is more enjoyable.

My view of the eastern horizon is blocked by buildings, so I walk at least a few blocks to see the moonrise. I search from block to block, not sure exactly where and when it will appear.

I often spot the huge moon only after it has fully cleared the horizon.

When I do catch it partially behind the horizon, it’s extra satisfying.

I often fantasize about a roof deck from which I could easily see not only the full moons rising each month, but all of the daily moonrises and moonsets. I learned a bit about the moon’s pattern a few years back when I made time-lapse videos of the sun and moon rising and setting, but I only saw intermittent fragments of its behavior, not enough to internalize its position from day to day.

Despite its beauty, and despite the ubiquity and accessibility of this phenomenon, watching the moon rise is not a major part of our daily lives. Moonrises are exactly the kind of phenomenon I love. They are elusive and easy to miss, but regularly occurring and take only minimal effort to see.

Moonrise watching is available in any part of the world, weather permitting. But even on days forecast to be overcast, it’s still worth looking for: the moon sometimes shines brightly through the clouds.

I have integrated the full moon eve’s moonrise into the structure of this newsletter: “Have You Seen This Phenomenon?” is released on the day before the full moon as a reminder to watch this moonrise. In the header of the email sent to subscribers, I include the moonrise time.

Friends and family now sometimes send me their photos of the full moon. Seeing the moon in their landscape and in my own is like celebrating a holiday together.

After a complete Earth year of writing this newsletter, the ritual of completing each month’s post on the full moon eve, then looking out for the moonrise on that same day, is deeply embedded in the fabric of my life. I will be looking out for it later today, and I hope you will too.

All photos by Emily Wick unless otherwise noted