Moon Phase Today Samsun

Moon Phase Today Samsun: Last Quarter

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, the moon in Samsun is a Last Quarter with 45% illumination. Moon age: 22.6 days.

Illumination
45%
Moon Age
22.6d
Next Full Moon
Oct 26
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
—
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
3:03 PM

Samsun, Turkey-moonrise-skyline

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Samsun, Turkey

Samsun sits on the middle Black Sea coast, where two long rivers reach the sea, with coastal plains between plateaus and mountains in the south. Low beaches and wide deltas give you broad northern horizons, while forested ridges behind offer elevated viewpoints away from the immediate coast. The coast faces roughly north, so the Moon, which rises in the east and sets in the west, is over the sea only when it rises north of due east or sets north of due west, and otherwise it rises or sets over land. Samsun also has Ondokuz Mayıs University's observatory and planetarium for a look through a telescope. Exact Moonrise and Moonset directions change with the date and your observing position, so check both before planning a specific composition.

Kızılırmak Delta – Ramsar Wetland

A Ramsar site of 21,700 hectares, designated on 15 April 1998, across the Bafra, 19 Mayıs and Alaçam districts. The wetland includes dunes, beaches, shallow lakes, reedbeds and seasonally flooded forest, and provides shelter, breeding and feeding areas for many waterfowl species, with 365 bird species recorded in a 2025 DKMP report. It is accessible through designated entrances, with some pedestrian and vehicle restrictions, so check them and stay on paths.

Ondokuz Mayıs University Observatory & Planetarium – Telescopes

Ondokuz Mayıs University's Observatory, on the university campus 14 km north-west of Samsun, was established in 2006 as the Black Sea region's first observatory, with Meade telescopes, and the planetarium beside it, built in 2009, has welcomed more than 200,000 visitors. Because suitable observing nights are limited on the Black Sea coast, the observatory is used for observation only on certain days and in suitable weather. Check its and the planetarium's announcements for programmes.

Atakum – Long Sandy Coastline

Official tourism sources confirm kilometres of beaches and coastline at Atakum, west of the city centre, with a broad northern horizon over the Black Sea. It suits a Moonrise or Moonset when the Moon's azimuth falls over water, with the city lights behind you for foreground interest.

Amisos Hill – Elevated Panoramic Viewpoint

An elevated site overlooking the surroundings, according to the Culture Portal. The Amisos cable car connects Batıpark and Amisos Tepesi and resumed service in March 2025 after modernisation, according to the municipality. It gives elevated panoramic views over the city and the bay, though local artificial lighting is significant. The cable car runs on set hours, so check them before an evening visit.

Yeşilırmak Delta – Eastern Wetland

An officially designated Wetland of National Importance covering 34,340 hectares in the Çarşamba and Terme districts, the second major delta, east of the Kızılırmak. It has lagoons, fishing villages and open horizons, suitable for low-angle Moon photography with reflective water. Check access and stay on paths.

Akdağ & Kunduz Forests – Southern Mountains

Samsun Governorate identifies Akdağ as the province's highest mountain, at 2,062 m, in the mountainous south. The Kunduz Forests lie in Vezirköprü district, with Keltepe one of the highest points, and the highest parts reach approximately 1,800 m, according to Samsun Governorate. The forests of pine, oak, poplar and hornbeam suit upland recreation. They are remote, so check road and weather conditions and access before an evening visit.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography in Samsun

🌕 Full Moon: rises near sunset and sets near sunrise — the timing and azimuth depend on the date and location
🌔 Waxing gibbous: useful for blue hour at the Kızılırmak Delta and Atakum beach — foreground still lit
🌊 Over the sea only when north of due east or due west — check the azimuth for your date
🌑 New Moon: for darker-sky work on Akdağ and the Kunduz forests, though darkness still depends on nearby lighting and weather

📷 Quick Tips for Samsun

🎯 Tripod for landscape and bracketing — A close Moon can often be photographed handheld with a fast shutter speed, but a tripod is useful for multi-exposure landscapes, bracketing, and carefully composed scenes. For compositions that include Kızılırmak's reedbeds, Atakum's long beach, or Akdağ's ridge above the plateau, a tripod keeps horizons steady and lets you use longer lenses during blue hour when foreground detail still matters.
📷 RAW + bracketing for bright disc — The Moon is much brighter than a dark foreground, so a single exposure can make it difficult to retain detail in both the lunar disc and the landscape. Bracketing or exposure blending can help preserve crater detail while keeping wetland, beach, and forest visible, especially during twilight over the Black Sea.
📏 Looney 11 as a starting point — For a full Moon, start at f/11, ISO 100, 1/100s and adjust from there. It's a traditional baseline, not a universal exposure. Atmospheric haze, surface reflections and changing twilight levels can affect the overall scene, so refine exposure using the histogram, especially when the Moon is low and warm-colored over the sea.
🌕 Longer lens for deltas and ridges — A telephoto in the 200–400mm range can be useful to isolate the Moon against Kunduz's forested slopes, fishing boats at Bafra, or Amisos Hill above city lights, but it is not necessary for every composition. It compresses distance and makes the disc feel large against foreground elements like reedbeds and dunes, rather than getting lost in a wide sky.
🌃 Manual focus on lunar limb — Autofocus can hunt in low light and on bright discs over dark water. Switch to manual and focus carefully on the edge of the Moon or on a distant light at the delta or harbor, then lock it. Use magnified live view if available to confirm crater detail before moonrise or moonset.
🌧 Check MGM for haze and cloud — Samsun's weather and cloud conditions can differ substantially between the coast and higher terrain. Check the Turkish State Meteorological Service for coastal haze, wind, and cloud cover before heading out, particularly for higher ground where conditions change rapidly with elevation.

🕐 Timezone: Samsun uses Turkey Time (TRT), UTC+3, year-round. Turkey has used a single permanent time zone since September 2016 and does not observe daylight saving. Europe/Istanbul zone.

🔭 Telescope Option: Ondokuz Mayıs University's Observatory and Planetarium, on the campus 14 km north-west of the city, is used for observation only on certain days and in suitable weather. Check its announcements for programmes.

Access: The Kızılırmak Delta is accessible through designated entrances, with some pedestrian and vehicle restrictions. The Kunduz Forests are in Vezirköprü district. The Amisos cable car runs from Batıpark, and the Atakum beaches lie west of the city.

Samsun works because you have wide Black Sea horizons at sea level and forested mountains to the south. Use the beaches and deltas for a Moonrise or Moonset over water and wetlands when the azimuth aligns, the university observatory for a look through a telescope, and higher points like Akdağ and Kunduz for elevated viewpoints.

The moon phase today in Samsun is shown above. For moon phase today anywhere else, visit the calculator on our home page.

◐ What It Feels Like

At the Kızılırmak Delta, dunes, shallow lakes and reedbeds stretch across the Bafra, 19 Mayıs and Alaçam districts, where 365 bird species have been recorded, and designated entrances manage access.

Along Atakum, kilometres of beach meet the Black Sea under an open northern sky, with the city lights behind you, and Amisos Hill rises above for panoramic views.

Up on Kunduz, the forested mountain area includes Keltepe as one of its highest points, with forest landscapes above the plain.

At the university observatory and planetarium, a clear night is not guaranteed on this cloudy coast, but when the sky opens, visitors look at the Moon and planets through the telescopes.

"Dunes and reedbeds where rivers meet the sea, a long beach under an open northern sky, and forested ridges behind the plain."

✓ Checklist for Lunar Observers

Before You Go

  • Check moonrise and moonset azimuth — it determines whether the Moon is over water
  • Check MGM — coastal haze and weather can differ between the coast and higher terrain
  • Confirm access — the Kızılırmak Delta's designated entrances, the Kunduz Forests, the Amisos cable car, and the observatory's programme

What to Bring

  • Telephoto and wide for delta and beach foregrounds
  • Tripod for landscape and bracketing — useful for multi-exposure, and a close Moon can be handheld
  • Lens cloth for sea spray
  • Warm layers — colder at higher elevations, where the highest parts reach about 1,800 m

On the Night

  • Manual focus on the lunar limb
  • Bracket for the disc and the foreground — it is difficult to retain both in a single exposure
  • Stay on paths — the Ramsar wetlands and forests are protected
  • Higher ground can offer cleaner horizons, but darkness still depends on nearby artificial light and weather
Start low at Atakum and the Kızılırmak Delta for Black Sea and wetland horizons, use Amisos Hill for elevated city views, then use Kunduz and Akdağ for elevated viewpoints, and the university observatory for a telescope.

? Samsun Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Samsun?

The moon phase today in Samsun is a Last Quarter with 45% illumination. The next full moon is in 23 days, on 26 Oct. Moonrise is at — and moonset at 3:03 PM.

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

Samsun sits on the middle Black Sea coast, where two long rivers reach the sea. Atakum, west of the city centre, has kilometres of beaches and a broad northern horizon over the sea. The Kızılırmak Delta, a Ramsar wetland across the Bafra, 19 Mayıs and Alaçam districts, has dunes, shallow lakes and reedbeds, and the Yeşilırmak Delta lies to the east. Amisos Hill gives an elevated view over the city and bay, reached by cable car from Batıpark. For height, Akdağ, the province's highest mountain at 2,062 m, and the Kunduz forests are in the south. Ondokuz Mayıs University's observatory and planetarium is the place for a telescope.

Q. Can I look at the moon through a telescope in Samsun?

Sometimes. Ondokuz Mayıs University's Observatory, 14 km north-west of Samsun on the university campus, was established in 2006 as the Black Sea region's first observatory, with Meade telescopes, and the university's planetarium next to it has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors. Because suitable observing nights are limited on the Black Sea coast, the observatory is used for observation only on certain days and in suitable weather. Check the observatory's and planetarium's announcements for current programmes.

Q. Where does the moon rise and set in Samsun, and how high does it climb?

At about 41.3°N, Samsun's moonrise and moonset points swing widely across the horizon each month, from roughly east-north-east to east-south-east for rising and west-north-west to west-south-west for setting, with an even wider swing in years near a major lunar standstill. A full moon near the winter solstice climbs to roughly 72° in the south, while a full moon near the summer solstice stays lower, peaking near 25°. The coast faces roughly north, so the moon rises over the sea only when it rises north of due east, and sets over the sea only when it sets north of due west, and otherwise it rises or sets over land. Check the azimuth for your date and exact spot.

Q. Is light pollution a problem for moon observing in Samsun?

The moon is bright enough to observe and photograph from almost anywhere in Samsun, so light pollution rarely limits the lunar disc itself. It does wash out earthshine on a thin crescent and any faint sky detail. Samsun is a large coastal city, so stars are faint along the shore, and the lights of the city make Amisos Hill's views bright. The deltas and the southern forests are darker, though darkness still depends on nearby artificial light and weather.

Q. What camera settings and phases work best for moon photography in Samsun?

For a full moon, start with Looney 11 (f/11, ISO 100, 1/100 s) and refine using your histogram, since it is a baseline rather than a guarantee. The moon is much brighter than the wetland, the beach and the forest, so shoot RAW and bracket or blend exposures to keep both crater detail and the foreground, especially at twilight over the Black Sea. A waxing gibbous suits blue hour at the Kızılırmak Delta and Atakum beach while the foreground is still lit. A telephoto of about 200 to 400 mm can isolate the moon against forested slopes, fishing boats at Bafra or Amisos Hill above the city lights, with a tripod and manual focus on the moon's edge using magnified live view.

Q. How do Black Sea haze, wind and cloud affect moon viewing in Samsun?

Samsun's weather and cloud can differ substantially between the coast and the higher terrain inland. Haze, sea mist and wind off the Black Sea can lower contrast and soften a low moon, and conditions change rapidly with elevation. Check the Turkish State Meteorological Service forecast for coastal haze, wind and cloud before you go, and bring warm layers for the higher ground in the south, which is much colder than the coast.

Q. What time zone are Samsun's moonrise and moonset times shown in?

Samsun runs on Turkey Time, UTC+3, all year. Turkey has used a single permanent time zone since September 2016 and does not change its clocks. Moonrise and moonset times on this page follow the local clock. Samsun lies at about 36.3°E, west of the 45°E meridian on which UTC+3 is based, so the sun and moon cross the sky about 35 minutes later on the clock than they would on that meridian.

Q. Can I shoot the moon at Samsun's viewpoints after dark?

Mostly, with care, but check each place. The Atakum beaches are public. The Kızılırmak Delta is a Ramsar wetland that is accessible through designated entrances, with some pedestrian and vehicle restrictions, so check them before going and stay on paths. The Amisos cable car runs on set hours, and the observatory is open only through its programmes. Roads to the southern forests and Akdağ can be difficult in bad weather.