Moon watching tips for Mid-Autumn Festival 2023
The Mid-Autumn Festival this year falls on September 29 (Friday) and the full moon (Note) will occur near sunset that day. If weather permits, a bright and round moon will be observable at night during the Mid-Autumn Festival period.
To facilitate moon watching by the public, the times of moonrise, transit, moonset and full moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival period are listed in the table. At transit, the moon passes the local meridian, reaching its highest elevation for the night due south.
| September 28 (Thursday) – the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival | |
| Moonrise | 5.38pm |
| Transit (elevation 63 degrees) | 11.39pm |
| Moonset | 5.46am (next morning) |
| September 29 (Friday) – Mid-Autumn Festival | |
| Full moon (the moon is below the horizon of Hong Kong at this moment) | 5.57pm |
| Moonrise | 6.16pm |
| Transit (elevation 70 degrees) | 0.30am (next morning) |
| Moonset | 6.49am (next morning) |
| September 30 (Saturday) – the day following the Mid-Autumn Festival | |
| Moonrise | 6.54pm |
| Transit (elevation 77 degrees) | 1.20am (next morning) |
| Moonset | 7.52am (next morning) |
Please refer to the 9-day Weather Forecast issued by the Hong Kong Observatory and the Weather Information for Astronomical Observation webpage for the latest weather conditions and the astronomical observation condition during the Mid-Autumn Festival period to plan moon-watching activities.
Note: At full moon, the moon is completely illuminated as seen from the Earth, with the moon and the sun located on the opposite sides of the Earth.