Moon Phase Today Raleigh

Moon Phase Today Raleigh: New Moon

On Friday, October 9, 2026, the moon in Raleigh is a New Moon with 0% illumination. Moon age: 29.0 days.

Illumination
0%
Moon Age
29.0d
Next Full Moon
Oct 26
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
6:17 AM
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
6:13 PM

moon-phase-today-raleigh-skyline

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Raleigh, NC

Raleigh doesn't have real hills, so several of its best skyline views actually come from a former landfill and a museum's sculpture park rather than any natural high ground. The date and your observing location together determine the moon's rise time and direction; your viewpoint determines how much of that horizon is actually unobstructed. Most of the spots below follow a "dawn to dusk" or similarly limited schedule rather than staying open through the night, so check each entry's current hours against your date. Here are six Raleigh locations that offer different ways to experience or photograph the moon.

1

Dorothea Dix Park

Raleigh's largest city park at 308 acres, built on the former grounds of Dorothea Dix Hospital, with the Gipson Play Plaza and the grassy hillside near Flowers Field both framing views of the downtown skyline. Open seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Address: 2105 Umstead Dr.

2

Green Hills County Park

A 36-acre Wake County park built on a former landfill in North Raleigh, with two hilltop observation areas on the "Big Hill" giving clear views of the downtown skyline and North Hills district on a clear day. Hours run 8 a.m. to sunset daily, closed on three major holidays. Address: 9300 Deponie Dr.

3

Ann & Jim Goodnight Museum Park (NC Museum of Art)

A 164-acre outdoor sculpture park at the North Carolina Museum of Art — the largest museum park in the country — with open fields, 4.7 miles of trails, and numerous open areas with broad views of the sky. Free and open daily, including holidays, from dawn to dusk. Address: 2110 Blue Ridge Rd.

4

Boylan Bridge

A pedestrian and railroad bridge just southwest of downtown, offering one of the most direct skyline views in the city, with the restaurant Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing right at the foot of the bridge. This is public street infrastructure with active rail traffic — stay well clear of the tracks, use normal caution after dark, and don't assume any particular access status without checking current conditions. Near 1030 Richardson Dr.

5

Pullen Park

The first public park in North Carolina (established 1887), 66.4 acres adjacent to NC State University, with Lake Howell for a reflection shot and the Rocky Branch Trail connecting toward downtown. General park grounds are currently open 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily — one of the later-closing spots on this list; the amusement rides themselves keep separate, shorter hours and require tickets. Address: 520 Ashe Ave.

6

The Dillon Rooftop Terrace

A rooftop terrace on the 9th floor of The Dillon apartment building in the Warehouse District has historically offered public access with one of the more elevated skyline views in downtown Raleigh, with hours reported as 7 a.m.–7 p.m. daily. Public access policies and hours at private buildings like this can change without notice — verify current access with the building before planning a visit, rather than assuming these conditions still hold. Near 411 W Martin St.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography

🌕 Full Moon ±1 day — brightest phase, though not necessarily the most photogenic for every landmark shot
🌔 Days before full — the moon generally rises later each evening as full approaches, eventually rising around sunset at full moon, though the exact timing varies with the date and season
🧭 Landmark alignments — the moon generally rises somewhere in the eastern half of the sky, but its exact rising point shifts along the horizon from night to night as it moves through its roughly 27.3-day sidereal orbit, so check the exact date and viewpoint rather than assuming it will rise due east

📷 Quick Photography Tips

🎯Use a sturdy tripod, and check each park's posted rules before setting up, especially for anything beyond personal use
📷Shoot RAW and expose for the moon — it's much brighter than the surrounding skyline or park lighting
📏Looney 11 rule — a useful starting point for a bright full moon: f/11, ISO 100, 1/100s, then check your histogram and adjust for phase, atmospheric conditions, and your equipment
🌕Low on the horizon, the moon can look strikingly large — that's the well-known "moon illusion," a perceptual effect rather than an actual change in angular size. A telephoto lens doesn't magnify the moon relative to the foreground on its own; shooting from farther away changes the angular size relationship between a distant foreground object and the moon, and a longer focal length just lets you frame that distant composition tightly — together, that's what produces those dramatic huge-moon photos
🌫️Check the forecast for Piedmont humidity and haze, especially in summer — it can soften the moon's edge near the horizon even on an otherwise clear night
🕐 Timezone

Raleigh runs on Eastern Time — EST (UTC−5) in winter and EDT (UTC−4) in summer, since North Carolina observes daylight saving time. PhotoPills or Stellarium will handle the moon's exact rise azimuth for any of these spots automatically.

Enjoy the moon over Raleigh — a converted landfill turned overlook, a museum's outdoor sculpture park, and a pedestrian bridge over the tracks all sharing the same lunar glow.

The moon phase today in Raleigh is shown in detail above — complete with exact illumination percentage, moonrise/set times, and the best local spots to see it. For the moon phase today in any other city worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the home page.

◐ What the Experience Actually Feels Like

At Dix Park, golden hour can bring a steady flow of people to the grassy hillside near Flowers Field — picnic blankets, dogs off leash in the designated area, kids running down the slope — with the skyline just visible above the tree line as the light fades.

Up at Green Hills, the climb to the Big Hill is short but real, and the payoff is a genuinely open 360-degree view that's unusual for a city this flat. Deer are sometimes spotted on the hillside, a reminder that this started life as a landfill and has had time to become something else entirely.

Down at Boylan Bridge, the mood is more industrial — the rumble of a passing train underfoot, the restaurant patio at Wye Hill filling in below, and the skyline framed by railroad infrastructure rather than a manicured park setting. It's a rawer, more urban way to catch a moonrise than any of the parks offer.

"Up at Green Hills, the climb to the Big Hill is short but real, and the payoff is a genuinely open 360-degree view that's unusual for a city this flat."

✓ Your Raleigh Moon Chase Checklist

Before You Go

  • Check the moonrise time and rise azimuth for your date — the date and your observing location together determine the moon's rise time and direction, while your viewpoint determines how much of that horizon is unobstructed
  • Check both the moon's rise time and the venue's hours — Dix Park, Museum Park, and Green Hills all close at or near dusk, but Pullen Park's general grounds currently stay open until 9 p.m., later than the others (its amusement rides close earlier and separately)
  • Verify Site Access: The Dillon's rooftop terrace has historically offered public access, but hours and access policies at private buildings can change — confirm current status with the building before planning around it
  • Use PhotoPills or Stellarium to check whether the moon will align with a specific landmark on your date
  • Check the forecast for humidity and haze, especially in summer
  • Confirm current rules on tripods and photography at your chosen park, especially for anything beyond personal use

What to Bring

  • A telephoto lens, often 200mm or longer, can help frame the moon tightly with the downtown skyline from a distance
  • A lens cloth — Piedmont humidity can fog a lens quickly on a warm evening
  • A remote shutter release or a 2-second timer to avoid shake on tripod shots
  • Insect repellent, especially near Pullen Park's lake and Dix Park's open fields in warmer months
  • Cash for Pullen Park's amusement rides ($2 per attraction) if you're bringing kids along

On the Night

  • As a general recommendation, arrive at your viewpoint at least 30–45 minutes early, especially at Dix Park and Green Hills around golden hour
  • Focus manually on the moon's edge — city glow and park lighting can confuse autofocus at dusk
  • Bracket your exposures — one for the bright lunar disc, one for the darker skyline or hillside below
  • If the moon looks soft or hazy right at moonrise, consider waiting until it climbs higher above the horizon, when atmospheric effects are often less pronounced
  • Plan to be back at your vehicle before your chosen park's closing time — dusk for Dix Park, Museum Park, and Green Hills, or 9 p.m. for Pullen Park's general grounds — don't count on staying past it
The moon over Raleigh moves between two very different stages — the reclaimed green space of its parks and hilltops, and the rawer, industrial edge of a bridge over the railroad tracks. Use the tools on this page, pick your vantage point, and catch a Raleigh moonrise for yourself.

? Raleigh Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Raleigh?

The moon phase today in Raleigh is a New Moon with 0% illumination. The next full moon is in 17 days, on Oct 26. Moonrise is at 6:17 AM and moonset at 6:13 PM.

Q. Where is the best place to view the moon in Raleigh?

Green Hills County Park is one of the more surprising spots, a former landfill whose "Big Hill" observation areas give a genuinely open, elevated view over the downtown skyline in an otherwise flat city. Dorothea Dix Park's grassy hillside near Flowers Field frames the same skyline from Raleigh's largest park, the Ann & Jim Goodnight Museum Park at the NC Museum of Art offers broad open-sky views across the largest museum park in the country, and Boylan Bridge, Pullen Park, or The Dillon Rooftop Terrace add further industrial-skyline, reflection-pond, or elevated downtown alternatives.

Q. Do these viewing spots stay open after dark?

Not really — Dorothea Dix Park and the NC Museum of Art's Goodnight Museum Park both run dawn to dusk, and Green Hills County Park closes at sunset. Pullen Park is the latest-closing park on this list at 7 a.m.–9 p.m., while The Dillon Rooftop Terrace has reported hours of 7 a.m.–7 p.m. — though access policy at a private building like this can change without notice, so it's worth verifying directly before planning a visit. Boylan Bridge is public infrastructure with no set hours, but it carries active rail traffic, so normal caution after dark is essential.

Q. Does Raleigh observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Raleigh runs on Eastern Time — EST (UTC−5) in winter and EDT (UTC−4) in summer, since North Carolina observes daylight saving time on the standard U.S. schedule.

Q. What's the best time of year for moon photography in Raleigh?

The date and your observing location together determine the moon's rise time and direction, so alignment with the skyline depends on the exact night rather than the season. Since Raleigh has no real hills, most of its good vantage points are constructed ones — a repurposed landfill, a museum's sculpture park, a bridge — rather than natural high ground, so it's worth scouting a spot's sightlines in daylight first.

Q. Does this page work for cities besides Raleigh?

This page is set up specifically for Raleigh, North Carolina. For the moon phase in any other city or location worldwide, use the Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the moonphase.today home page.