The Moon in April 2026
In April 2026 the Moon goes through four main phases: full moon on April 1, last quarter on April 10, new moon on April 17 and first quarter on April 23. The full moon, traditionally called the Pink Moon, comes on Wednesday, April 1 at 10:12 PM ET (2:12 AM UTC). The new moon falls on Friday, April 17 at 7:52 AM ET.
On April 1 the Moon is a full moon, 99% lit. By April 30 it is a waxing gibbous, 100% lit. All times on this page are Eastern Time (New York), rounded to the minute, with UTC alongside. The live tool at the top uses your own time zone.
| Phase | Date | Time (ET) | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full moon | Wednesday, April 1 | 10:12 PM | Apr 2, 2:12 AM |
| Last quarter | Friday, April 10 | 12:52 AM | Apr 10, 4:52 AM |
| New moon | Friday, April 17 | 7:52 AM | Apr 17, 11:52 AM |
| First quarter | Thursday, April 23 | 10:32 PM | Apr 24, 2:32 AM |
April 2026 moon calendar, day by day
Phase and lit share at noon in New York, the Moon’s direction in the sky, then moonrise and moonset in New York. “None” means the Moon does not rise (or set) that calendar day.
| Day | Phase | Lit | Moon | Rise | Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Apr 1 | Full moon | 100% | Descending | 7:14 PM | 6:15 AM |
| Thu, Apr 2 | Waning Gibbous | 100% | Descending | 8:19 PM | 6:36 AM |
| Fri, Apr 3 | Waning Gibbous | 97% | Descending | 9:23 PM | 6:58 AM |
| Sat, Apr 4 | Waning Gibbous | 93% | Descending | 10:28 PM | 7:24 AM |
| Sun, Apr 5 | Waning Gibbous | 88% | Descending | 11:31 PM | 7:54 AM |
| Mon, Apr 6 | Waning Gibbous | 81% | Descending | none | 8:29 AM |
| Tue, Apr 7 | Waning Gibbous | 73% | Descending | 12:31 AM | 9:12 AM |
| Wed, Apr 8 | Waning Gibbous | 65% | Ascending | 1:26 AM | 10:03 AM |
| Thu, Apr 9 | Waning Gibbous | 55% | Ascending | 2:14 AM | 11:00 AM |
| Fri, Apr 10 | Last quarter | 46% | Ascending | 2:54 AM | 12:03 PM |
| Sat, Apr 11 | Waning Crescent | 36% | Ascending | 3:28 AM | 1:09 PM |
| Sun, Apr 12 | Waning Crescent | 27% | Ascending | 3:57 AM | 2:16 PM |
| Mon, Apr 13 | Waning Crescent | 18% | Ascending | 4:22 AM | 3:24 PM |
| Tue, Apr 14 | Waning Crescent | 10% | Ascending | 4:45 AM | 4:34 PM |
| Wed, Apr 15 | Waning Crescent | 5% | Ascending | 5:08 AM | 5:45 PM |
| Thu, Apr 16 | Waning Crescent | 1% | Ascending | 5:32 AM | 7:00 PM |
| Fri, Apr 17 | New moon | 0% | Ascending | 5:58 AM | 8:18 PM |
| Sat, Apr 18 | Waxing Crescent | 2% | Ascending | 6:29 AM | 9:39 PM |
| Sun, Apr 19 | Waxing Crescent | 7% | Ascending | 7:08 AM | 10:59 PM |
| Mon, Apr 20 | Waxing Crescent | 14% | Ascending | 7:57 AM | none |
| Tue, Apr 21 | Waxing Crescent | 24% | Descending | 8:58 AM | 12:12 AM |
| Wed, Apr 22 | Waxing Crescent | 34% | Descending | 10:07 AM | 1:14 AM |
| Thu, Apr 23 | First quarter | 45% | Descending | 11:22 AM | 2:03 AM |
| Fri, Apr 24 | Waxing Gibbous | 56% | Descending | 12:36 PM | 2:42 AM |
| Sat, Apr 25 | Waxing Gibbous | 67% | Descending | 1:47 PM | 3:12 AM |
| Sun, Apr 26 | Waxing Gibbous | 76% | Descending | 2:55 PM | 3:37 AM |
| Mon, Apr 27 | Waxing Gibbous | 85% | Descending | 4:01 PM | 3:59 AM |
| Tue, Apr 28 | Waxing Gibbous | 91% | Descending | 5:05 PM | 4:20 AM |
| Wed, Apr 29 | Waxing Gibbous | 96% | Descending | 6:08 PM | 4:41 AM |
| Thu, Apr 30 | Waxing Gibbous | 99% | Descending | 7:12 PM | 5:03 AM |
Distance and height in the sky
The Moon is closest to Earth (perigee) on April 19, at 361,631 km. It is farthest (apogee) on April 7, at 404,975 km.
The month starts with a descending Moon. It reaches its lowest path on April 8 (28.3° south) and starts to ascend again. It reaches its highest path on April 21 (declination 28.2° north) and then descends. A high declination means the Moon rides high in the sky and stays up longer, as seen from the United States.
Why it is called the Pink Moon
The name comes from the almanac tradition of the northeastern United States: it is named after a pink wildflower, creeping phlox, which blooms in early spring. These names were popularized in the 1930s by the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, which presented them as Native American names.
Next: the following month. Before: the previous month. See all the full moons of 2026, or sunrise and sunset times for any city.