The Art of Viewing a Full Moon Rising

The full moon setting near Phoenix, AZ. Single exposure.

Have you ever seen a full moonrise? I mean, have you actually seen the moment when the top of the moon peeks over the horizon? It’s not uncommon for us to get outside with plans to watch a sunset, or a sunrise, but it’s rare that we do the same thing for the moonrise, why is that? Well, for starters, the colors and beauty of a sunset can last for a half hour or more. On top of that, the effects of a sunset can often cover a large portion of our skies, making for easy viewing from nearly any place outside, and with very little planning. The moon on the other hand, doesn’t light up much of the sky, except for when cloud cover is just right, and it only “touches” the horizon for about two minutes, making it a little trickier to plan for. Most of us just happen to see a full moon rising high in the sky when we are out and about, perhaps driving to an event for the night. Seeing it when it actually clears the horizon isn’t so easy though, especially for city dwellers, since buildings can obstruct the view. Even worse, city haze can prevent you from seeing it low on the horizon when it first comes up.

A full moon rising over snowy mountains near Moab, UT. Single exposure.

I think that viewing a full moon when it first shows itself, as simple as it may sound, is something that everyone should experience at least once. I find a special beauty to it, perhaps in part because it’s a relatively rare event. Of course I love sunsets, but they are something we can witness every single day. A full moon though, only happens about once every month. So, whether it be for a romantic date night, or a little something different to do with the entire family, I want to share how, with a little bit of planning, you can create a unforgettable experience connecting with our celestial neighbor.

A full moon rising over Sedona, AZ. Single exposure.

While a lot of the moon photography I do requires specialized photography apps for precision, today, we’re only talking about casual viewing, with no experience necessary. Your first step is to pick a night of a full moon. This is the easiest part, with no shortage of websites and apps that provide moon phase calendars, that information is never more than a quick Google search away. But I do recommend timeanddate.com. You simply put in your location, and you’ll be given the date for the next full moon, along with other phases, and more importantly, the moonrise time. The day of the full moon, it will rise fairly close to sunset, providing great viewing as you will still be able to see the landscape. The night before a full moon can also work well, so that is another option, just know it will be well before sunset on those days, so will still be light out.

A full moon rising over a silhouetted butte near Moab, UT. Single exposure.

Now, before the time of the moonrise arrives on the day you have chosen, get yourself to a spot with a vantage point of the distant horizon to the East. If there are any hills in your city and you can get to the top, those work great, otherwise high school bleachers or the top level of parking garages can also provide good views. Even better though, get out of the city some if possible, since as I mentioned before, city pollution can completely obscure the moon when it’s first coming up. Note that moonrise times are typically given for when the moon would first appear on a flat horizon, and do not take into consideration any hills or mountains, so you may have to wait a bit after the given time if you have any elevated terrain to the East of your position. I also recommend bringing along a pair of binoculars if you have them, giving you the ability to zoom in for an impressive view of the moon up close.

A full moon rising over the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, AZ. Single exposure.

Lastly, while you may get lucky spotting the top of the moon as soon as it appears, you can get a better idea of exactly where it will come up by using an augmented reality app to overlay the moon’s path with your phone’s camera view. Android users can use Moon Locator, and Iphone users Moon Tracker, which are both free and easy to use apps. Now, just sit back and enjoy the show! If you want to take a deeper dive into moonrises and planning for photos like the ones you see here, I offer moon photography workshops in the Moab area, so if you want to join me any of those you can check available dates. If you have any questions on planning a moonrise viewing, just let me know in the comments.