Moonrise, Moonset & Moon Phase in Chicago
Tonight's moon times for Chicago (41.8781°, -87.6298°) — America/Chicago — plus every full moon of 2026.
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Pick another date, or fine-tune the locationSet by latitude and the moon's 18.6-year cycle — true indefinitely, not just this year
- Moonrise arc
- 80°
- 50° NE to 130° SE
- Sunrise arc
- 65°
- The sun's whole range, for comparison
- Highest culmination
- 77°
- Above the horizon
- Lowest culmination
- 19°
- Always clears the horizon
Can the moon stay up all day in Chicago? No. That needs a latitude past 61.4°, and Chicago is 41.9°N — about 20° short — so the moon rises and sets on essentially every date. What does happen roughly once a month is a date with no moonrise, or no moonset: the moon comes up about 50 minutes later each day, and eventually one of the two slips past midnight.
All 13 of them, in America/Chicago local time. A full moon is one instant worldwide, so the clock time is Chicago's own.
| Full moon | Moonrise | Moonset | Rides highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, January 3 4:05 AM | 4:48 PM NE | 7:53 AM | 76° Jan 2, 11:46 PM |
| Sunday, February 1 4:11 PM | 4:58 PM ENE | 7:06 AM | 65° Feb 2, 12:24 AM |
| Tuesday, March 3 5:40 AM | 6:14 PM E | 6:25 AM | 56° Mar 2, 11:51 PM |
| Wednesday, April 1 9:14 PM | 7:12 PM E | 6:09 AM | 40° Apr 2, 12:56 AM |
| Friday, May 1 12:26 PM | 8:17 PM ESE | 5:19 AM | 31° May 1, 12:20 AM |
| Sunday, May 31 3:48 AM · farthest of 2026 | 9:14 PM SE | 4:58 AM | 22° May 31, 12:39 AM |
| Monday, June 29 6:59 PM | 8:49 PM SE | 4:32 AM | 21° Jun 30, 1:08 AM |
| Wednesday, July 29 9:38 AM | 8:31 PM ESE | 5:29 AM | 26° Jul 29, 12:42 AM |
| Thursday, August 27 11:20 PM | 7:22 PM ESE | 5:29 AM | 39° Aug 28, 12:54 AM |
| Saturday, September 26 11:50 AM | 6:29 PM E | 6:37 AM | 49° Sep 26, 12:16 AM |
| Sunday, October 25 11:13 PM | 5:19 PM ENE | 6:40 AM | 65° Oct 26, 12:31 AM |
| Tuesday, November 24 8:55 AM | 4:08 PM NE | 7:07 AM | 72° Nov 23, 11:08 PM |
| Wednesday, December 23 7:30 PM · nearest of 2026 | 3:50 PM NE | 7:07 AM | 75° Dec 24, 12:02 AM |
Reading the table. Moonrise and moonset are for the local date shown, which is what the calculator gives for that date. Rides highest is the altitude at the moon's culmination nearest the full-moon instant, and carries its own date: a full moon culminates within about half a day of the instant, so it lands on the day before roughly as often as the day after. "None" means that date genuinely has no moonrise (or no moonset), which happens about once a month everywhere.
2026's nearest full moon over Chicago is Wednesday, December 23 at 356,740 km, and the farthest is Sunday, May 31 at 406,135 km — a 14% difference in distance, and so about that much difference in apparent width. The nearer one is what gets called a supermoon.
Moon times for Chicago are computed from the full Meeus lunar theory — the complete 47.A and 47.B periodic tables — at the city's latitude (41.8781°) and longitude (-87.6298°), then converted to local time in the America/Chicago timezone. Rise and set are found by sampling the moon's altitude across the day and bisecting each horizon crossing, because the moon moves about 13° a day and no single position describes it. Against US Naval Observatory tables the result agrees to the displayed minute.
Why moonrise has no fixed time. The moon travels eastward against the stars as it orbits, so the Earth has to turn a little further each day to bring it back to the horizon — about 50 minutes further. That is why a page of moon times for Chicago cannot be written down the way sunrise times can: the cycle is 29.5 days long and does not fit the calendar. Roughly once a month a date in Chicago has no moonrise at all, or no moonset, simply because the event slid past midnight. The calculator says so in words rather than leaving a blank.
The 18.6-year cycle. Moonrise in Chicago is not a fixed direction. Over the moon's 18.6-year cycle the rise point sweeps 80° of horizon, from 50° NE at its northernmost to 130° SE at its southernmost. That is 16° wider than the sun ever manages from Chicago, whose rise point is confined to 65° between the solstices — the moon's orbit is tilted a further 5.1° to the ecliptic, so it overshoots the sun's limits in both directions.
The moon's highest culmination over Chicago reaches 77°, while at the other end it climbs no higher than 19°. Everything the moon does over Chicago happens between those two figures, and neither of them shifts — they follow from the city's latitude and the tilt of the moon's orbit, not from the calendar.
What time does the moon rise in Chicago tonight?
Tonight's moonrise, moonset and highest point for Chicago are at the top of this page, computed in your browser for America/Chicago. There is no single answer to keep on file: the moon rises roughly 50 minutes later each day, so tonight's time is about 50 minutes later than last night's and the whole cycle repeats only every 29.5 days — which is why this page's fixed reference is the geometry of Chicago's horizon rather than a table of times.
When is the next full moon in Chicago?
All 13 full moons of 2026 are listed above in Chicago local time, from Saturday, January 3 to Wednesday, December 23. The panel at the top of the page shows the next one counting from today. A full moon is a single instant worldwide — the moment the moon is opposite the sun — so it lands at a different clock time in every timezone, and occasionally on a different calendar date.
How high does the moon get in Chicago?
Between about 19° and 77° above the horizon at its highest point of the night. The wide spread is the moon's own doing: its orbit is tilted 5.1° to the ecliptic and the tilt swings around over 18.6 years, so the moon reaches both higher and lower over Chicago than the sun ever does.
Does the moon ever stay up all day in Chicago?
No. That needs a latitude past 61.4°, and Chicago is 41.9°N — about 20° short — so the moon rises and sets on essentially every date. What does happen roughly once a month is a date with no moonrise, or no moonset: the moon comes up about 50 minutes later each day, and eventually one of the two slips past midnight.