- 2 Dec, 11:11 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 10 Dec, 14:50 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 17 Dec, 22:05 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 24 Dec, 13:09 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During December 1956 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 16 January 1957 (January 1957).
Moon phase times, December 1956
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 2 Dec | New moon | 11:11 | 08:11 |
| Mon 10 Dec | First quarter | 14:50 | 11:50 |
| Mon 17 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 22:05 | 19:05 |
| Mon 24 Dec | Last quarter | 13:09 | 10:09 |
The sky: December 1956
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Tue 11 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 4.7° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Thu 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 84% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Sat 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 71% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Mon 24 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 5.7° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Tue 25 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 20° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Wed 26 Dec | Venus and Saturn together | Only 0.5° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Sat 29 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 0.7° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sat 29 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 0.2° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
How to read the moon calendar
Each day shows its date, the share of the Moon’s disc that is lit at noon, and the Moon’s shape that day. When a full moon, new moon or quarter falls on a day, it is named at the bottom of the cell.
Illumination is the part of the disc lit by the Sun. It grows from new moon to full moon (waxing) and shrinks from full moon to new moon (waning). Each day opens its own page with every signal for that date.
Full moon dates 1956
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 27 Jan | 14:39 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sun 26 Feb | 01:40 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Mon 26 Mar | 13:10 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Wed 25 Apr | 01:39 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Thu 24 May | 15:25 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sat 23 Jun | 06:12 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Mon 23 Jul | 21:28 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Tue 21 Aug | 12:37 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Thu 20 Sep | 03:18 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Fri 19 Oct | 17:23 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sun 18 Nov | 06:43 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Mon 17 Dec | 19:05 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1956
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 13 Jan | 03:00 | passed |
| Sun 12 Feb | 21:37 | passed |
| Mon 12 Mar | 13:36 | passed |
| Wed 11 Apr | 02:38 | passed |
| Thu 10 May | 13:03 | passed |
| Sat 9 Jun | 21:28 | passed |
| Sun 8 Jul | 04:36 | passed |
| Mon 6 Aug | 11:24 | passed |
| Tue 4 Sep | 18:56 | passed |
| Thu 4 Oct | 04:23 | passed |
| Fri 2 Nov | 16:42 | passed |
| Sun 2 Dec | 08:11 | passed |
The eight moon phases explained
Four principal phases are exact instants; the four in between are the days that connect them.
Solar and lunar eclipses in 1956
No eclipse data for 1956.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1956?
The full moon is on 17 December 1956. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1956?
The new moon is on 2 December 1956. The Moon can’t be seen that night: it sits between Earth and the Sun with its lit side turned away.
What do the percentages mean?
They show how much of the Moon’s disc is lit at noon. 0% is new moon, 100% is full moon and 50% is a quarter.
Why does another calendar give a different date?
A phase is a moment. When it falls near midnight, the date can differ by one day between time zones. This calendar uses Europe/Vilnius time for the days.
How often is there a full moon?
About every 29.5 days. Some months have two; the second is called a Blue Moon.
- Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd ed., Willmann-Bell, 1998, chapters 48 and 49.
- NASA Eclipse Web Site (eclipse dates and visibility).
Numbers update through the day from public sources. The text for each day is written from that day’s data and checked by the editor. Every past day keeps its own page in the archive.