Why moonrise matters
Several Hindu observances are timed by the moon, not by the clock. Karva Chauth ends when the fasting woman sees the Moon, and the Moon rises at a different time in every city. Sankashti Chaturthi, the monthly fast to Ganesha on the fourth day of the waning half, is broken after the moonrise, and Chandra darshan, the first sight of the thin new Moon, is observed in some families on the evening after the new moon. This tool gives the moonrise and moonset for any place and date, so that you do not have to rely on the time for a different city.
How the times are worked out
The Moon’s longitude comes from the Swiss Ephemeris tables on this site, and its latitude and distance from the main terms of the standard lunar series. The tool then works out where the Moon stands for your latitude and longitude at every ten minutes through the day, finds the moment it crosses the horizon and refines it to the second. The time is for the centre of the Moon on a flat horizon, seen from the surface of the Earth, which is how Drik Panchang prints moonrise, and it is cut to the minute. The time zone is found from the place, with daylight saving applied for that date.
Two ways of reading a date
The tool shows each date in two ways. The first two columns are the moonrise and moonset that fall on that calendar date, from midnight to midnight. The next two are the moonrise and moonset between that date’s sunrise and the next sunrise, the Hindu day. A daily panchang and the rules for Karva Chauth and Sankashti Chaturthi use this second reading. They differ for a waning Moon that rises after midnight, which belongs to the Hindu day before.
Reading the table
The tithi at moonrise is the lunar day running when the Moon comes up. The vrat rules look at it: when it is Krishna Chaturthi at moonrise the day is the Sankashti moonrise, and Karva Chauth is held on that tithi in the month of Kartika in the purnimanta calendar. The tool marks these dates. The column on the right shows how much of the Moon’s disc is lit, from a thin sliver after the new moon to the full Moon. For the festival dates themselves, see the pages on Karva Chauth and Sankashti Chaturthi, or the festival dates tool.
Where traditions differ
Karva Chauth in particular varies. Some households wait for the Moon to be seen, and some go by the printed moonrise, which is a minute or more before it clears the buildings. A moonrise given as the Moon’s centre differs from the time of the upper edge by a few minutes. Where the Moon is hidden by cloud or hills, local practice applies, and many families then go by the printed time. The tithi on which the vrat falls can also differ between almanacs, which is why a festival date should be taken from a panchang for your own place.
At high latitudes the Moon can remain above or below the horizon for days, and the tool says “None” for those dates.
What it does not do
It does not give the Moon’s altitude or its direction on the horizon, and it does not predict the weather. For the full day, see the panchang for any place and today’s timings.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Why is the moonrise different in each city?
The Moon appears over the horizon at a different moment for each longitude and latitude. Even two cities in one country can differ by half an hour.
↳ Which column should I use for Karva Chauth?
For an evening moonrise the calendar column and the sunrise to sunrise column agree. Use the one for the date of the vrat, and the festival page for your city confirms the date.
↳ What does Moon lit mean?
It is the share of the visible disc that is lit by the Sun, from about zero at the new moon to 100 per cent at the full Moon.
↳ Why does a date show no moonrise?
The Moon rises about fifty minutes later each day, so on one date in the month it can rise just after midnight and the date before it has none. It can also fail to rise at all near the poles.
↳ Is the Moon visible at the printed time?
The printed time is for a flat horizon. Buildings, hills and haze can delay the first sight by several minutes.