The Sturgeon Moon, August’s full moon, reaches full at 3:29 a.m. EDT (07:29 UTC) on Tuesday, August 17, 2027. It brings a penumbral lunar eclipse visible across the United States, peaking at 3:14 a.m. EDT.
The Sturgeon Moon is the traditional name for the full moon of August. In 2027, it reaches full in the early hours of Tuesday, August 17, in the eastern and central United States, just after midnight on the West Coast, and late on Monday, August 16, in Alaska and Hawaii.
It is the only 2027 full moon whose eclipse the whole contiguous United States can watch from start to finish: the Moon dims in Earth’s outer shadow for 3 hours and 39 minutes on the night of Monday, August 16, into Tuesday, August 17.
It is also a micromoon, the second-farthest full moon of the year, and it falls on Raksha Bandhan in India. This page gives the exact time in every US time zone, the eclipse times by time zone, moonrise times for four US cities, the Sturgeon Moon dates from 2026 to 2031, and where the name comes from.
Table of Contents
When is the Sturgeon Moon 2027?
The Sturgeon Moon 2027 is full at 07:29 UTC on Tuesday, August 17, 2027, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Moonblink gives 07:28:36 UTC, which rounds to the same minute.
The table below converts it to US and international time zones.
| Time zone | Sturgeon Moon 2027 (exact full moon) |
|---|---|
| UTC | Tuesday, August 17, 7:29 a.m. |
| US Eastern | Tuesday, August 17, 3:29 a.m. EDT |
| US Central | Tuesday, August 17, 2:29 a.m. CDT |
| US Mountain | Tuesday, August 17, 1:29 a.m. MDT |
| US Pacific | Tuesday, August 17, 12:29 a.m. PDT |
| Alaska | Monday, August 16, 11:29 p.m. AKDT |
| Hawaii | Monday, August 16, 9:29 p.m. HST |
| London | Tuesday, August 17, 8:29 a.m. BST |
| India | Tuesday, August 17, 12:59 p.m. IST |
| Sydney | Tuesday, August 17, 5:29 p.m. AEST |
The 2027 Sturgeon Moon falls on Tuesday, August 17, in the contiguous United States and most of the world, but on Monday, August 16, in Alaska and Hawaii.
Across the lower 48 states, it is a middle-of-the-night full moon, so the night to watch is Monday, August 16, going into Tuesday morning.
The full moon before it is the Buck Moon of Sunday, July 18, and the next is the Harvest Moon of Wednesday, September 15.
Sturgeon Moon moonrise times in US cities
The Moon rises shortly before sunset on Monday, August 16, and stays up all night, so it is well up in the southern sky when it becomes full and throughout the eclipse.
The table below gives moonrise, sunset, moonset, and the share of the disc lit for four US cities, from the Naval Observatory’s rise and set data.
| City | Monday, August 16: moonrise (lit) | Monday, August 16: sunset | Tuesday, August 17: moonset | Tuesday, August 17: moonrise (lit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (EDT) | 7:35 p.m. (100%) | 7:53 p.m. | 6:22 a.m. | 7:58 p.m. (100%) |
| Chicago (CDT) | 7:33 p.m. (100%) | 7:49 p.m. | 6:17 a.m. | 7:54 p.m. (100%) |
| Denver (MDT) | 7:39 p.m. (100%) | 7:55 p.m. | 6:32 a.m. | 8:02 p.m. (100%) |
| Los Angeles (PDT) | 7:24 p.m. (100%) | 7:39 p.m. | 6:35 a.m. | 7:51 p.m. (100%) |
On Monday, August 16, the Moon rises 15 to 18 minutes before sunset in all four cities and does not set until after sunrise on Tuesday, between 6:17 and 6:35 a.m. local time.
That puts it above the horizon for the whole eclipse in every one of these cities. On Tuesday evening, August 17, it rises 6 to 13 minutes after sunset, still looking full.
The August 17, 2027 penumbral lunar eclipse
The Sturgeon Moon passes through Earth’s penumbra, the faint outer part of its shadow, producing a penumbral lunar eclipse.
According to Wikipedia, the eclipse begins at 05:24:29 UTC, reaches greatest eclipse at 07:13:43 UTC and ends at 09:03:03 UTC, lasting 3 hours, 38 minutes and 35 seconds, with a penumbral magnitude of 0.548.
NASA’s eclipse list gives the same contact times to the minute, with greatest eclipse at 07:14 UTC and a penumbral magnitude of 0.546.
| Eclipse stage | UTC | Eastern (EDT) | Central (CDT) | Mountain (MDT) | Pacific (PDT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penumbral eclipse begins | 05:24 | Tue 1:24 a.m. | Tue 12:24 a.m. | Mon 11:24 p.m. | Mon 10:24 p.m. |
| Greatest eclipse | 07:14 | Tue 3:14 a.m. | Tue 2:14 a.m. | Tue 1:14 a.m. | Tue 12:14 a.m. |
| Exact full moon | 07:29 | Tue 3:29 a.m. | Tue 2:29 a.m. | Tue 1:29 a.m. | Tue 12:29 a.m. |
| Penumbral eclipse ends | 09:03 | Tue 5:03 a.m. | Tue 4:03 a.m. | Tue 3:03 a.m. | Tue 2:03 a.m. |
In the Mountain and Pacific time zones, the eclipse begins on Monday night, August 16, and ends on Tuesday, August 17, so a calendar that lists only “August 17” can send West Coast readers out a night late.
Wikipedia says the eclipse is completely visible over North and South America, rising over Australia and the central Pacific and setting over West Africa.
What a penumbral eclipse looks like
At greatest eclipse, the penumbra covers just over half of the Moon’s diameter, but the Moon does not touch the umbra, the dark inner shadow; its umbral magnitude is negative, at about -0.52 according to both sources.
The Moon will not turn red. A penumbral eclipse dims the Moon only slightly, and with a magnitude of about 0.55, the change is hard to notice. The best chance is around 3:14 a.m. EDT (12:14 a.m. PDT), when a faint grey shading may be noticeable on one edge of the disc.
The Sturgeon Moon and the August 2 total solar eclipse
The Sturgeon Moon comes 15 days after the total solar eclipse of Monday, August 2, 2027, which NASA lists with a maximum of 6 minutes and 23 seconds of totality, at 10:07 UTC over North Africa.
Solar and lunar eclipses often come in pairs about two weeks apart, because both need the Moon to be near the point where its orbit crosses the Sun’s path.
Raksha Bandhan and the 2027 Sturgeon Moon
Raksha Bandhan, the Hindu festival celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters, is held on the full moon of the month of Shravana.
In 2027, it falls on Tuesday, August 17, according to Dekho Panchang and CalendarDate. The exact full moon comes at 12:59 p.m. IST that day, so in India the Sturgeon Moon and Raksha Bandhan share the same date.
Sturgeon Moon dates for 2026 to 2031
The Sturgeon Moon shifts about 11 days earlier each year, then jumps later when a 13th full moon falls into the year.
| Year | Sturgeon Moon (Eastern Time) | Pacific Time | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday, August 28, 12:18 a.m. EDT | Thursday, August 27, 9:18 p.m. PDT | Aug 28, 04:18 |
| 2027 | Tuesday, August 17, 3:29 a.m. EDT | Tuesday, August 17, 12:29 a.m. PDT | Aug 17, 07:29 |
| 2028 | Saturday, August 5, 4:10 a.m. EDT | Saturday, August 5, 1:10 a.m. PDT | Aug 5, 08:10 |
| 2029 | Thursday, August 23, 9:51 p.m. EDT | Thursday, August 23, 6:51 p.m. PDT | Aug 24, 01:51 |
| 2030 | Tuesday, August 13, 6:44 a.m. EDT | Tuesday, August 13, 3:44 a.m. PDT | Aug 13, 10:44 |
| 2031 | Saturday, August 2, 9:45 p.m. EDT | Saturday, August 2, 6:45 p.m. PDT | Aug 3, 01:45 |
The 2026 Sturgeon Moon split the United States, falling on August 28 in Eastern Time but August 27 in Pacific Time.
The 2029 and 2031 Sturgeon Moons fall a day earlier in the United States than in UTC. The 2029 Sturgeon Moon is also a seasonal Blue Moon, the third of four full moons in summer 2029, according to EarthSky.
What is the Sturgeon Moon?
The Sturgeon Moon is a traditional name for the full moon of August. Like every full moon, it is the instant the Moon stands opposite the Sun, 180 degrees away along the ecliptic, so its whole Earth-facing side is lit. The name does not reflect any astronomical difference from other full moons.
Where the Sturgeon Moon name comes from
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the name comes from the giant lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, a freshwater fish that was readily caught in late summer and was an important food for Native Americans in the region.
The Farmers’ Almanac gives the same explanation, saying Algonquian-speaking nations caught lake sturgeon, the largest freshwater fish in North America, in greatest numbers under the August full moon.
The Maine Farmers’ Almanac began publishing such moon names in the 1930s, and the 1937 edition credited them to “our early English ancestors,” according to Wikipedia, so the origin of the full set of names is disputed.
Other names for the August full moon
The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists these August full moon names, with the peoples it attributes them to:
| Name | Attributed to |
|---|---|
| Flying Up Moon | Cree |
| Corn Moon | Algonquin, Ojibwe |
| Harvest Moon | Dakota |
| Ricing Moon | Anishinaabe |
| Black Cherries Moon | Assiniboine |
| Mountain Shadows Moon | Tlingit |
The Farmers’ Almanac adds the Grain Moon, a traditional European name, the Green Corn Moon, the Red Moon, the Lightning Moon, and the Anglo-Saxon Wyrt Moon.
The Dakota “Harvest Moon” name for August is separate from the Harvest Moon of astronomy, which is the full moon nearest the September equinox; in 2027 that is the September 15 full moon.
The 2027 Sturgeon Moon’s distance and zodiac sign
The 2027 Sturgeon Moon is 405,078 km from Earth at full, according to Moonblink, the second-farthest full moon of 2027 and only 895 km closer than the July Buck Moon.
TheSkyLive calls it a micromoon that appears 5.09% smaller than the Moon’s average size, and iCalendrier lists it among the three 2027 micromoons under Fred Espenak’s definition.
At the Sturgeon Moon, the Sun is in Leo, so the Moon stands opposite it in Aquarius. In astrology, this is the full moon in Aquarius.
The Sun moves into Virgo at 4:14 a.m. EDT on Monday, August 23. In the sky, TheSkyLive places the Moon in the constellation Capricornus.
How to see the Sturgeon Moon and its eclipse
The Sturgeon Moon and its penumbral eclipse are visible to the naked eye wherever the sky is clear. These steps give the best view in the United States:
- Plan for the night of Monday, August 16, 2027, not the evening of August 17. The Moon rises between 7:24 and 7:39 p.m. local daylight time in the four cities above.
- Look to the south. The Moon reaches its highest point around 1:00 a.m. local time and stays well up in the southern and southwestern sky through the eclipse.
- Check the Moon at greatest eclipse, 3:14 a.m. EDT, 2:14 a.m. CDT, 1:14 a.m. MDT or 12:14 a.m. PDT, and look for faint shading on one edge.
- For comparison, take a first look before the eclipse begins, before 1:24 a.m. EDT or 10:24 p.m. PDT, when the Moon is at full brightness.
What the Sturgeon Moon is not
Several terms are linked to the August full moon. The table below sets out the differences.
| Term | What it means | Relation to the 2027 Sturgeon Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Sturgeon Moon | Traditional name for August’s full moon | Tuesday, August 17, 2027, in the lower 48 states |
| Penumbral eclipse | The Moon passing through Earth’s faint outer shadow | Yes; greatest eclipse at 3:14 a.m. EDT |
| Total lunar eclipse or blood moon | The Moon entering Earth’s dark shadow and turning red | No; there is no total lunar eclipse in 2027 |
| Total solar eclipse | The Moon blocking the Sun completely | August 2, 2027, 15 days before the Sturgeon Moon |
| Harvest Moon | The full moon nearest the September equinox | No; the 2027 Harvest Moon is September 15 |
| Micromoon | A full moon near the Moon’s farthest point from Earth | Yes; the second-farthest full moon of 2027 |
Frequently asked questions
When is the Sturgeon Moon in 2027?
The Sturgeon Moon in 2027 is on Tuesday, August 17, at 3:29 a.m. EDT (07:29 UTC), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. In Pacific Time, it falls at 12:29 a.m. PDT on August 17. In Alaska and Hawaii, it falls on Monday, August 16. The best night to watch is Monday, August 16, into Tuesday morning.
Is there a lunar eclipse in August 2027?
Yes. The Sturgeon Moon brings a penumbral lunar eclipse that runs from 1:24 a.m. to 5:03 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 17, with greatest eclipse at 3:14 a.m. EDT. On the West Coast, it runs from 10:24 p.m. PDT on Monday, August 16, to 2:03 a.m. PDT. It is visible from all of North and South America.
Will the August 2027 eclipse be a blood moon?
No. The August 17, 2027, eclipse is penumbral, so the Moon passes only through Earth’s faint outer shadow and does not turn red. At its peak, at 3:14 a.m. EDT, a faint grey shading may be visible on one edge. There is no total lunar eclipse in 2027.
Why is it called the Sturgeon Moon?
The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Farmers’ Almanac both say the name comes from the lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes, which Native American peoples caught in greatest numbers in August. Other August names include the Corn Moon, the Flying Up Moon, the Grain Moon and the Red Moon.
When is the Sturgeon Moon in 2028?
The 2028 Sturgeon Moon is on Saturday, August 5, 2028, at 4:10 a.m. EDT (08:10 UTC), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. The 2029 Sturgeon Moon falls on Thursday, August 23, in US time zones, and it is a seasonal Blue Moon, according to EarthSky.
What sign is the Sturgeon Moon in 2027?
The 2027 Sturgeon Moon is in Aquarius. At full moon, the Moon sits opposite the Sun, and on August 17, 2027, the Sun is in Leo, which it leaves for Virgo on August 23. In astrology, this is called the full moon in Aquarius. In the sky, the Moon sits in the constellation Capricornus.
Sources:
- USNO moon phases 2027
- Moonblink 2027 table
- Wikipedia: August 2027 lunar eclipse
- NASA eclipse list 2027
- TheSkyLive: Full Moon of August 2027
- iCalendrier: Microlune
- Dekho Panchang: Raksha Bandhan 2027
- CalendarDate: Raksha Bandhan 2027
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac: August full moon
- Farmers’ Almanac: Sturgeon Moon
- EarthSky: When is the next Blue Moon?
