Moonset Times: Why the Moon Sets Later Each Day and When Each Phase Leaves the Sky

Moonrise gets most of the attention, but moonset is the better clue when you want to know how long the Moon stays up. A Moon that sets in the small hours of the morning gives you the whole evening to look at it. A Moon that sets after sunrise is still in the sky when the day has started, and you can find it if you know where to look.

This guide explains what moonset means, shows when each phase sets, and explains why the time slips later every day. It ends with a task in the Rise & Set Dial: set the sky to a Moon that sets in the small hours, around 3 in the morning.

What moonset means

The U.S. Naval Observatory computes moonrise and moonset for exactly the same circumstances as sunrise and sunset. A moonset is simply the moment the Moon drops below the horizon, as seen from a specific place. The Observatory points out one big difference from the Sun. Moonrise and moonset may occur at any time of day, so it is often possible to see the Moon during daylight, and it is possible to have moonless nights.

The Observatory also says that its calculation takes no account of the Moon's phase. The Moon is always treated as a disk in the sky, and the upper edge of that disk might be dark. So a moonset time marks when the disk reaches the horizon, whether the Moon is full or a thin crescent.

The mirror image of this guide is moonrise times. The two share one rule: the Moon rises and sets later each day.

Moonset by phase

NASA lists a typical rise and set pattern for each phase. The right-hand column below is a plain reading of NASA's words. NASA itself says to check local predictions for exact moonrise and moonset information.

A NASA scientist describes the same swing in everyday terms. In the days before a full Moon, you can find the almost full Moon rising before the Sun sets. In the days after a full Moon, you can look in the western sky and find the Moon setting after the Sun has come up.

Read down the Sets column and you can watch moonset move across the clock: with the Sun, then night, then the middle of the night, then the early hours, sunrise, the morning, midday, and the afternoon. After the full Moon, the Moon sets after daylight has begun.

A later moonset every day

NASA says the Moon sets about 50 minutes later each day as it marches through its phases. The reason is the same one that delays moonrise. The Moon moves along its orbit around Earth, so each day Earth has to turn a little further before the Moon comes back to the same place in the sky. NASA's Top Moon Questions page puts it simply: moonrise and moonset times change each day as the Moon moves through its monthly orbit around Earth.

Other official pages give nearly the same number. A NASA picture-of-the-day page says that, on average, the Moon returns to the same position in the sky about 50 minutes and 29 seconds later each day. The Naval Observatory says the time between successive moonrises or moonsets is about 25 hours, which is about one hour longer than a 24-hour day.

The sources round the number differently, but they describe the same slide. Here is what it does over a week. At about 50 minutes a day, seven days add up to 350 minutes, or about 5 hours 50 minutes. A waxing crescent that sets at 9 PM one night sets close to 3 AM a week later.

Because successive moonsets are about 25 hours apart, a calendar day now and then has no moonset at all. The Naval Observatory says these gaps in its moonrise and moonset tables occur approximately once every 25 days.

A quick way to estimate moonset

You do not need a table for a rough answer. Work through this checklist.

1. Name the phase. Look at the shape of the Moon and ask whether the lit part is growing or shrinking.
2. Find its moonrise in NASA's table. For example, a waxing gibbous Moon rises in the afternoon, before sunset.
3. Add about half a day. In NASA's table, each phase sets roughly half a day after it rises. The first quarter Moon rises around midday and sets around the middle of the night. The full Moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. NASA also says the Moon is up just as much during the day as it is at night.
4. Nudge it for the days in between. Add about 50 minutes for each day past the phase you used.
5. Check local predictions before you plan. The Naval Observatory says computed rise and set times may be in error by a minute or more, and mountains on the horizon or the height of the observer can change them even more.

This is a rule of thumb. It works for learning the pattern, and it is the same logic the dial uses.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the Moon sets when the Sun does. Only the new Moon rises and sets with the Sun, according to NASA.
• Putting the full Moon's setting at midnight. NASA says the full Moon sets at sunrise, so it is up all night.
• Forgetting that the Moon can set after sunrise. A waning gibbous Moon sets in the morning, after sunrise, and a third quarter Moon sets around midday.
• Counting on a moonset every calendar day. Successive moonsets are about 25 hours apart, so some days have none.
• Expecting the Moon to vanish on the minute. Computed times can be off by a minute or more, and local hills or mountains change what you see.

Try it in the instrument

Open the Rise & Set Dial and set the sky to a Moon that sets in the small hours, around 3 in the morning. The target is a Moon age of about 11 days, which is a waxing gibbous Moon.

The dial pictures a place at middle latitudes near an equinox, with sunrise at 6 AM and sunset at 6 PM. The Moon rises at 6 AM plus 0.81 hour for each day of age, about 49 minutes, which is the dial's version of NASA's 50 minutes. It then stays above the horizon for about half a day. At age 11, moonrise is about 2:55 PM, and half a day later is about 3 AM. NASA's table says the same thing in words: a waxing gibbous Moon rises in the afternoon, before sunset, and sets in the early hours of the morning, before sunrise.

If you get stuck, split the difference. NASA says the first quarter Moon sets around the middle of the night, and the full Moon sets at sunrise. Midnight and 6 AM are six hours apart, and 3 AM sits halfway between them. Halfway between a first quarter Moon, at an age of about 7.4 days, and a full Moon, at about 14.8 days, is about 11 days.

The game accepts a range of ages, not one exact number. A one-day error moves moonset by less than an hour, so a Moon of age 10 or 12 still sets in the small hours. The dial is a simplified model, so use local predictions when you need the real time at your address.

Questions people ask

Why does the Moon sometimes set after sunrise?

Because the Moon rises and sets on its own schedule, which depends on its phase. NASA says a waning gibbous Moon sets in the morning, after sunrise, and a third quarter Moon sets around midday. The Naval Observatory says moonrise and moonset may occur at any time of day.

Can a day pass with no moonset?

Yes. Successive moonsets are about 25 hours apart, so now and then a calendar day has none. The Naval Observatory says these gaps in its tables occur approximately once every 25 days.

How accurate are moonset tables?

Even under ideal conditions, a computed time may be off by a minute or more. The Naval Observatory explains that the real times depend on unpredictable atmospheric conditions at the horizon. Mountains and the height of the observer can shift them further.

Is the Moon up more at night than in the daytime?

Not by much. NASA says the Moon is up just as much during the day as it is at night. A NASA picture-of-the-day page adds that the Moon spends nearly as many daylight hours above the horizon, though it looks pale in bright skies and is harder to see.

Sources

• Moon Phases, NASA Science. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/moon-phases/. Opened November 10, 2026.
• Why Can You See the Moon During the Day? We Asked a NASA Scientist: Episode 19, NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/why-can-you-see-the-moon-during-the-day-we-asked-a-nasa-scientist-episode-19/. Opened November 10, 2026.
• Top Moon Questions, NASA Science. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/top-moon-questions/. Opened November 10, 2026.
• APOD: 2020 May 7 - Analemma of the Moon, NASA Science (Astronomy Picture of the Day). https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2020-may-7-analemma-of-the-moon/. Opened November 10, 2026.
• APOD: 2025 April 12 - Moon Near the Edge, NASA Science (Astronomy Picture of the Day). https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2025-april-12-moon-near-the-edge/. Opened November 10, 2026.
• Rise/Set/Transit Times for Major Solar System Bodies and Bright Stars, U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/mrst. Opened November 10, 2026.
• Rise, Set, and Twilight Definitions, U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/RST_defs. Opened November 10, 2026.

We opened each source ourselves on the date shown. The drawings are our own and were checked against the numbers in these sources.

Read next

• When the Moon RisesThe Moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, so over one cycle of phases moonrise slides around the whole clock.
• The Moon in DaytimeThe Moon spends nearly as many hours above the horizon in daylight as at night.