Last Quarter Moon: Meaning, Next Dates and Best Viewing
Phase 7 of 8, an exact instant
At last quarter, also called third quarter, the Moon is three quarters of the way around its orbit and shows the left half lit. It rises around midnight and sets around midday, so it belongs to the early hours and the morning. Evenings are moonless from now until the next crescent, which makes this the start of the best two weeks for stargazing.
Tonight the Moon is a waning gibbous. Next last quarter (showing UTC):
- Illumination
- 50%
- Moon age
- about 22.1 days
- Rises
- Around midnight
- Sets
- Around midday
Where to look: after midnight and in the morning sky. Exact moonrise and moonset for your city are on the moon calendar.
Upcoming last quarter dates
| Date and time (UTC) | Details |
|---|---|
| October 2026 | |
| November 2026 | |
| December 2026 | |
| December 2026 | |
| January 2027 | |
| February 2027 | |
| March 2027 | |
| April 2027 |
Each row is the exact instant of last quarter; it is the same moment everywhere on Earth and the date can differ by a day between time zones.
What the last quarter looks like
At last quarter, also called third quarter, the Moon has completed three quarters of its orbit and again shows a half disc, now lit on the opposite side from first quarter. It rises around midnight, is highest at sunrise and sets around midday, so it belongs to the morning sky and is often seen in daylight before noon.
The terminator again brings craters into sharp relief for anyone up before dawn.
Lore and folklore
The last quarter was the old almanac's time for rest and reflection: good for harvesting, drying and storing, mending fences and turning compost, but not for sowing. Weather lore watched the last quarter for signs of the coming month.
In some traditions the morning half moon was a reminder that the month was ending and debts and quarrels should be settled before the dark of the moon.
Trivia
- The last quarter Moon leads the Sun by 90 degrees, so it is due south (or north from the southern hemisphere) at sunrise.
- Several Moon missions launched near last quarter so the lighting at the landing site would be favourable a week later.
- From the southern hemisphere the last quarter is lit on the right, the mirror image of the northern view.
- Half of the Moon is always sunlit; a quarter moon simply shows us half of that half.
Gardening by the Moon
The waning half of the month, from full moon to new, is the traditional time for root crops, bulbs, perennials, pruning and weeding. The last week is a resting time: clear ground, compost and prepare beds rather than plant. See this month's planting calendar ›