Full moon calendar 2027 · New Zealand
Because New Zealand clocks run 12 or 13 hours ahead of UTC, seven of the twelve 2027 full moons fall a day later here than in UTC lists, and nine differ from North American calendars. Matariki, the public holiday aligned with the maramataka, is Friday 25 June 2027, and two penumbral lunar eclipses are visible.
First full moon of 2027 here: Saturday, January 23, 01:17 NZDT.
Every full moon of 2027 in local time, daylight saving included. Highlighted dates fall on a different day than in UTC: Wolf Moon, Snow Moon, Pink Moon, Buck Moon, Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon, Cold Moon.
| Full moon | Local date and time | Sign |
|---|---|---|
| Wolf Moon | Sat, Jan 23, 01:17 NZDT | ♌︎ Leo |
| Snow Moon | Sun, Feb 21, 12:24 NZDT | ♍︎ Virgo |
| Worm Moon | Mon, Mar 22, 23:44 NZDT | ♎︎ Libra |
| Pink Moon | Wed, Apr 21, 10:27 NZST | ♏︎ Scorpio |
| Flower Moon | Thu, May 20, 22:59 NZST | ♏︎ Scorpio |
| Strawberry Moon | Sat, Jun 19, 12:45 NZST | ♐︎ Sagittarius |
| Buck Moon | Mon, Jul 19, 03:45 NZST | ♑︎ Capricorn |
| Sturgeon Moon | Tue, Aug 17, 19:29 NZST | ♒︎ Aquarius |
| Harvest Moon | Thu, Sep 16, 11:04 NZST | ♓︎ Pisces |
| Hunter’s Moon | Sat, Oct 16, 02:47 NZDT | ♈︎ Aries |
| Beaver Moon | Sun, Nov 14, 16:26 NZDT | ♉︎ Taurus |
| Cold Moon | Tue, Dec 14, 05:09 NZDT | ♊︎ Gemini |
Moonrise on the evening of each full moon, in local time. When the exact full moment falls before dawn, the table uses the evening before, when the Moon already looks full. The last column is how high the Moon climbs over Auckland.
| Full moon | Evening | Auckland | Wellington | Christchurch | Queenstown | Dunedin | Height over Auckland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Moon | Fri, Jan 22 | 20:34 | 20:47 | 21:04 | 21:25 | 21:21 | 31° |
| Snow Moon | Sun, Feb 21 | 20:12 | 20:17 | 20:27 | 20:45 | 20:39 | 46° |
| Worm Moon | Mon, Mar 22 | 19:06 | 19:05 | 19:13 | 19:28 | 19:21 | 57° |
| Pink Moon | Wed, Apr 21 | 17:32 | 17:22 | 17:25 | 17:37 | 17:28 | 72° |
| Flower Moon | Thu, May 20 | 16:42 | 16:27 | 16:28 | 16:38 | 16:27 | 78° |
| Strawberry Moon | Sat, Jun 19 | 17:01 | 16:44 | 16:44 | 16:53 | 16:41 | 80° |
| Buck Moon | Sun, Jul 18 | 16:50 | 16:36 | 16:37 | 16:47 | 16:36 | 76° |
| Sturgeon Moon | Tue, Aug 17 | 17:42 | 17:34 | 17:39 | 17:53 | 17:44 | 64° |
| Harvest Moon | Thu, Sep 16 | 18:29 | 18:30 | 18:40 | 18:57 | 18:50 | 49° |
| Hunter’s Moon | Fri, Oct 15 | 19:21 | 19:27 | 19:39 | 19:59 | 19:52 | 40° |
| Beaver Moon | Sun, Nov 14 | 20:24 | 20:39 | 20:56 | 21:19 | 21:14 | 28° |
| Cold Moon | Tue, Dec 14 | 21:22 | 21:38 | 21:57 | 22:20 | 22:17 | 26° |
In New Zealand the full moon rides highest in winter and lowest in summer, the reverse of the northern hemisphere. From Auckland the full moon of 19 June climbs to 80 degrees, with May at 78 and July at 76 degrees. In December it peaks at only 26 degrees and in November at 28, and summer moons also rise late: 20:24 NZDT in Auckland on 14 November. Further south the summer moons sit lower still, so from Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin a low December full moon can slip behind hills and ranges. Winter brings the best viewing, with long nights and a Moon high above the landscape from May to July. The June full moon comes six days before the Matariki holiday, and the closest full moon of the year, at 357,635 km, rises on 22 January.
Time zones
New Zealand Daylight Time ends on Sunday 4 April 2027, when clocks move from UTC+13 to UTC+12, and starts again on Sunday 26 September. Sitting so far ahead of UTC pushes many full moons into the next day. The Wolf Moon arrives at 01:17 NZDT on Saturday 23 January, when most international lists still show 22 January, and the Buck Moon at 03:45 NZST on 19 July. The Hunter’s Moon at 02:47 NZDT on 16 October and the Cold Moon at 05:09 NZDT on 14 December also fall in the small hours, so the evening before is just as good for watching. The black moon shifts too: 30 September here, not 31 August.
| New moon | Local date and time | Sign |
|---|---|---|
| January 8 | Fri, Jan 8, 09:25 NZDT | ♑︎ Capricorn |
| February 7 | Sun, Feb 7, 04:56 NZDT | ♒︎ Aquarius |
| March 8 | Mon, Mar 8, 22:30 NZDT | ♓︎ Pisces |
| April 7 | Wed, Apr 7, 11:51 NZST | ♈︎ Aries |
| May 6 | Thu, May 6, 22:59 NZST | ♉︎ Taurus |
| June 5 | Sat, Jun 5, 07:40 NZST | ♊︎ Gemini |
| July 4 | Sun, Jul 4, 15:02 NZST | ♋︎ Cancer |
| August 2 | Mon, Aug 2, 22:05 NZST | ♌︎ Leo |
| September 1 | Wed, Sep 1, 05:41 NZST | ♍︎ Virgo |
| September 30 | Thu, Sep 30, 15:36 NZDT | ♎︎ Libra |
| October 30 | Sat, Oct 30, 02:37 NZDT | ♏︎ Scorpio |
| November 28 | Sun, Nov 28, 16:24 NZDT | ♐︎ Sagittarius |
| December 28 | Tue, Dec 28, 09:12 NZDT | ♑︎ Capricorn |
Eclipses
No solar eclipse of 2027 is visible from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown or Dunedin. Two of the year’s three penumbral lunar eclipses happen with the Moon above the horizon in all five cities: greatest eclipse at 04:02 NZST on 19 July and at 19:13 NZST on 17 August, the second one on an easy early evening. Penumbral eclipses only dim the Moon slightly, so expect a faint shading rather than a red moon. The eclipse of 21 February happens with the Moon below the horizon. The next total lunar eclipse peaks at 05:51 NZDT on 1 January 2029, with the Moon above the horizon in Auckland and Queenstown.
| Eclipse | Local date | Seen from |
|---|---|---|
| Annular solar eclipse | February 6, 2027 | Not visible |
| Total solar eclipse | August 2, 2027 | Not visible |
| Penumbral lunar eclipse | Sunday, February 21, 2027, 12:12 NZDT | Moon below the horizon |
| Penumbral lunar eclipse | Monday, July 19, 2027, 04:02 NZST | All listed cities |
| Penumbral lunar eclipse | Tuesday, August 17, 2027, 19:13 NZST | All listed cities |
| Total lunar eclipse | Monday, January 1, 2029, 05:51 NZDT | Auckland, Queenstown |
| Total lunar eclipse | Tuesday, June 26, 2029, 15:22 NZST | Moon below the horizon |
| Total lunar eclipse | Friday, December 21, 2029, 11:41 NZDT | Moon below the horizon |
Local moon culture
The maramataka is the Māori lunar calendar, a name that means the turning of the moon. A lunar month runs from one new moon to the next, and rather than counting days, Māori named each night. In one Ngāti Kahungunu list recorded by the ethnographer Elsdon Best, Whiro is the night of the new moon, Rākaunui is the night the Moon is full, and the nights of Tangaroa, as the Moon wanes, are good for fishing. Other nights are marked as favourable or unfavourable for planting, eeling or gathering food from the sea. The names, their order and the month names vary between iwi, and fishing and planting by the moon and tides is still common today, so the maramataka of a particular area is the one that applies there.
Matariki, the star cluster also known as the Pleiades, rises in midwinter and marks the start of the Māori New Year. Its public holiday falls on Friday 25 June 2027. The date moves each year to align with the maramataka and is always a Friday. By tradition, festivities do not begin as soon as the stars are seen but at Tangaroa, the last quarter moon of the first month of the Māori year, and in 2027 the holiday falls in the waning half of the lunar month after the full moon of 19 June. Some iwi in Whanganui, Taranaki, the Far North and the South Island mark this time by the star Puanga (Rigel) rather than Matariki.
Where to watch
Designated in 2012, it covers 4,367 square kilometres including Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and the Mackenzie Basin, where lighting controls since the early 1980s protect the skies over Mt John Observatory.
Designated in 2023 and covering 3,665 square kilometres, most of it open to the public by car, bike or on foot for night sky viewing every night.
Designated in 2017. The island has no mains electricity grid for outdoor lighting and much of it is conservation land, so it keeps almost all of its natural darkness.
Designated in 2019. Most of the island is Rakiura National Park, and its remoteness and small population give exceptionally dark skies at the far south of the country.
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FAQ
The first full moon of 2027 in New Zealand is the Wolf Moon on Saturday, January 23, 2027 at 01:17 NZDT. It is also the closest full moon of the year, a supermoon at 357,635 km.
the Wolf Moon (January 23), the Snow Moon (February 21), the Pink Moon (April 21), the Buck Moon (July 19), the Harvest Moon (September 16), the Hunter’s Moon (October 16), the Cold Moon (December 14). Calendars that list UTC or US dates show a different day for these moons.
The Matariki public holiday is on Friday 25 June 2027. Its date is set to align with the maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, and always falls on a Friday. By tradition celebrations begin at Tangaroa, the last quarter moon of the first month of the Māori year. In 2027 the holiday comes six days after the full moon of 19 June, at 12:45 NZST. Some iwi celebrate Puanga at this time of year instead.
On New Zealand time the 2027 full moons fall on 23 January, 21 February, 22 March, 21 April, 20 May, 19 June, 19 July, 17 August, 16 September, 16 October, 14 November and 14 December. Seven of those dates are a day later than the UTC date, so calendars made for the United States or Europe will often show the day before.
Yes, two penumbral lunar eclipses. The first peaks at 04:02 NZST on 19 July and the second at 19:13 NZST on 17 August, and the Moon is above the horizon in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin for both. They are subtle, with only slight shading. There is no total lunar eclipse in 2027; the next one peaks at 05:51 NZDT on 1 January 2029.
The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, which in New Zealand is in March. In 2027 the equinox falls on 21 March and the full moon on 22 March at 23:44 NZDT, so that is the local Harvest Moon. Northern calendars give the name to the September full moon, 16 September on New Zealand time, which here comes in spring. Easter follows on Sunday 28 March.
Other countries: UK, India, Australia, Canada, South Africa. For every other time zone, see the full moon calendar 2027.