The October full moon, traditionally the Hunter's Moon, peaks at 04:12 GMT on Monday 26 October, a few hours after the UK clocks went back. Hindus marked Sharad Purnima on Sunday night, and Buddhists keep the end of their rains retreat on Monday. The dates only look like they disagree. The Hindu Purnima tithi ends at about 09:41 IST on Monday, which is 04:11 GMT, within a minute of the astronomers' figure.
When is the October full moon 2026, and when is it best to see it?
The October full moon peaks at 04:12 GMT on Monday 26 October 2026, according to Star Walk. Because that is the small hours, the best UK viewing comes at moonrise on the evenings of Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October, when the Moon rises low over the horizon.
The UK clocks went back an hour at 2am on Sunday, so the peak reads 04:12 on UK clocks too, as The Scotsman notes. The peak is a single instant worldwide, which is why the local date varies: it lands at 12:12am on Monday on the US East Coast and is still Sunday further west. The Moon looks full on the evenings either side, so one cloudy night does not ruin it.
| October full moon 2026 at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Full moon peak | 04:12 GMT, Monday 26 October |
| Traditional name | Hunter's Moon |
| Supermoon or eclipse? | Neither |
| Sharad Purnima night (UK and India) | Sunday 25 October |
| Purnima tithi (IST) | About 11:55am Sunday to 9:41am Monday |
| Valmiki Jayanti | Monday 26 October |
| Pavarana (Buddhist) | Monday 26 October |
| Next full moon | 24 November, a supermoon |
Why is it called the Hunter's Moon?
It is the first full moon after the Harvest Moon, which this year peaked at 5.49pm UK time on 26 September, The Scotsman reported. The name comes from the autumn hunting season, when hunters took to freshly harvested fields to catch game for the winter, and the term has been used in English since at least 1710.
Other cultures read the same Moon differently. Native American names include Drying Rice and Falling Leaves, and the Celts called it the Seed Fall Moon. Eastern Eye looked at how these seasonal names took hold in its guide to last year's rare, low-rising Strawberry Moon.
October’s Hunter’s Moon lights up the NYC skyX/@Complex
Is the October full moon a supermoon or a Blood Moon?
Neither. At about 368,900 km, the Moon is only around 4% closer than average, and the next supermoon is on 24 November. There is no eclipse either, so "Blood Moon" is just an old folk name for October's full moon, not the red Moon of a total lunar eclipse.
This year's only total lunar eclipse came on 3 March, followed by a deep partial eclipse on 27 and 28 August, according to Space.com. The Moon reaches its closest point to Earth on 28 October, two and a half days after it turns full.
Is Sharad Purnima on 25 or 26 October 2026?
The Sharad Purnima night is Sunday 25 October in the UK and India, according to Drik Panchang's city listings. Some calendars print Monday 26 October instead, because the Purnima tithi ends that morning.
The tithi runs from about 11:55am IST on Sunday to about 9:41am IST on Monday, SmartPuja lists. The Kojagara rites belong to the night when the tithi is present at midnight, under the nishita rule, and that is Sunday night. The same city listings put it a day earlier, on Saturday 24 October, for parts of the western US and Canada.
Convert 09:41 IST to GMT and the answer is 04:11, one minute before the astronomers' full moon. That is not a coincidence. A Purnima tithi runs until the Moon sits exactly opposite the Sun, which is what "full" means.
What do Hindus do on Sharad Purnima?
Sharad Purnima is the full moon of the Hindu month of Ashwin, marking the end of the monsoon, and it is observed with Lakshmi worship, fasting and moonlit rituals that change from region to region. In much of north and central India, kheer is left under the Moon overnight, because the Moon's rays are believed to carry amrita, and it is eaten as prasad the next day.
In Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Mithila it is Kojagari Purnima, from a word meaning "one who is awake", when Lakshmi is believed to visit homes and bless those still up. In Braj it recalls Krishna's Raas Leela with the gopis. Maharashtra keeps Kojagiri Paurnima with masala milk set out in the moonlight, Gujarat holds Garba under the Moon, and in Odisha, Kumar Purnima sees unmarried women fast and worship the Moon.
For followers of the BAPS Swaminarayan tradition, it also marks the birth of Gunatitanand Swami. That tradition runs the temple at Neasden, which unveiled a 42-foot Tapomurti last month. Local mandirs publish their own timings, so it is worth checking with yours.
What is Valmiki Jayanti, and when is it in 2026?
Valmiki Jayanti is the birth anniversary of the sage Valmiki, traditionally credited with composing the Ramayana, and it falls on Monday 26 October 2026, according to Shubh Panchang. It comes straight after Sharad Purnima because it is observed on Ashwin Purnima, the same full moon.
The date arrives two days after Eastern Eye's report on the trailer for the new Ramayana film.
Do other faiths mark the October full moon?
Yes. Theravada Buddhists observe Pavarana, the end of the three-month rains retreat known as Vassa, on Monday 26 October 2026, and Myanmar's Thadingyut festival of lights falls on the same full moon day.
Hindus have other full-moon festivals through the year as well. One is Raksha Bandhan, also called Rakhi Purnima, which Eastern Eye covered when the House of Lords hosted a celebration.
Why does the date of Sharad Purnima change so much from year to year?
The Hindu calendar follows the Moon, so its year runs about 11 days shorter than the Gregorian one, and festivals drift earlier until a leap month, Adhik Maas, pulls them back. 2026 had one, with its full moon on 31 May, which is why Sharad Purnima falls 19 days later than in 2025.
Sharad Purnima was on 6 October in 2025, falls on 25 October this year and returns on Thursday 14 October in 2027, Dekho Panchang calculates. Take 11 days off for the usual drift, add a leap month of about 30, and the festival lands roughly 19 days later. The same shift helps explain why Ganesh Chaturthi, which Eastern Eye covered last month, began as late as 14 September.
What comes after the October full moon?
The next full moon is on 24 November and will be a supermoon, but Diwali comes first, with Lakshmi Puja on Sunday 8 November in the UK and Dhanteras on Friday 6 November, according to Drik Panchang's UK dates. Diwali is kept on the new moon, the darkest night of the Hindu month of Kartik, so the festival of lights arrives about two weeks after the brightest night of Ashwin.
