Does the Moon look big, bright and orangey red tonight? Don't worry, you're not seeing things!
Recent studies show that our Moon is rusting, but this is not the reason that it appears orange.
When the Moon is low above the horizon it appears dull and distinctly orange in colour – a stark contrast to its brilliant silvery hue when it is high in the sky.
This is caused by the same process that makes the rising or setting Sun appear orange or red and, conversely, the same process that makes our sky blue.
When the Moon is low, its light must pass through a more substantial thickness of the Earth’s atmosphere before reaching you.
The setting Sun appears red too. Credit: Pete Lawrence
As a result, more blue and violet light (the shorter wavelengths of visible light) is scattered by the atmosphere, so the light we observe is largely towards the red end of the spectrum (light with longer wavelengths).
In summer, the Moon is below the celestial equator when it‘s full or nearly full, so from the UK it doesn’t rise high enough above the horizon to shake off its orange hue.
You may also notice that a Moon low to the horizon looks enormous. This is a different phenomenon altogether, and is known as the Moon illusion.
Read our guide to find out when the next full Moon is visible.
Is the Moon ever really orange?
Aristarchus Crater on the Moon
There are localised areas on the Moon that have a real orange colouration.
A pair of steadily-held binoculars will show a decidedly orange patch near the bright crater Aristarchus, which is known as Wood’s Spot.
The Moon also appears to take on an orange or red colour during a total lunar eclipse as a result of longer wavelengths of sunlight being refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere onto the eclipsed Moon.
Ignore any talk of the green Moon myth though. There's no known natural phenomenon that would make the Moon turn green!
Pictures of an orange Moon
A beautiful view of the full Moon rising behind the Isola delle Correnti (Island of Currents), captured by Giovanni Migliorisi from Punta Castellazzo in the municipality of Ispica, Sicily, Italy, 31 May 2026, 20:41–20:46 local time
The full Blue Moon by Kyle Gradzki over East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, USA, 31 May, 04:40 local time. Equipment: Canon EOS 90D DSLR camera, Tiffen 77mm Circular polarising filter. Exposure: 32.5MP, f/11, 1/25s, ISO 100
Red full Moon – the August Sturgeon Moon – rising over Thessaloniki, Greece, 22 August 2021. This was a Blue Moon, but as you can see, was actually coloured red. Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The blood Moon of March 2026 over buildings in Manila in the Philippines. Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP via Getty Images
The 1 February 2026 full Moon above the Artemis II Space Launch System, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA, 1 February 2026, 18:04 EST. Captured by Chengcheng Xu, Tianyao Yang. Equipment: Canon EOS R5 Mark II camera, Canon RF 200–800mm lens. Exposure: ISO 500, f/9, 1/40s
The December 2024 Cold Moon rising over Malaga cathedral, Spain. Photo by Jesus Merida/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Nearly-full Sturgeon Moon captured through the arches of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, by Paolo Palma, 7 August 2025. Equipment: Nikon Coolpix p510 camera, single shot
The Sturgeon full moon rises behind Istanbul's Camlica Mosque on 1 August 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Moon and Stonehenge. Credit: Oversnap / Getty Images
The 2025 Flower Moon rises through clouds above the Statue of Liberty, New York City. Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
April's 'Pink Moon' seen behind the headquarters of Commerzbank bank in the banking district of Frankfurt am Main, western Germany on 12 April 2025. Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images
Peter Grego was a popular amateur astronomer and the author of several books on practical astronomy. He passed away in 2016. Minor planet 95935 Grego was named in his honour.
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