- 1 Dec, 02:53 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Blue Moon.
- 8 Dec, 00:33 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 16 Dec, 05:05 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 23 Dec, 22:53 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 30 Dec, 14:03 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Blue Moon.
- During December 1963 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 29 January 1964 (January 1964).
Moon phase times, December 1963
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 1 Dec | Full moon · Blue Moon | 02:53 | 23:53 |
| Sun 8 Dec | Last quarter | 00:33 | 21:33 |
| Mon 16 Dec | New moon | 05:05 | 02:05 |
| Mon 23 Dec | First quarter | 22:53 | 19:53 |
| Mon 30 Dec | Full moon · Blue Moon | 14:03 | 11:03 |
The sky: December 1963
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Sat 7 Dec | Mercury and Mars together | 1.4° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Sat 14 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 1% lit and will not interfere. |
| Tue 17 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 1.4° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Wed 18 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 20° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Wed 18 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 0.5° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Fri 20 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.1° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sun 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 44% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Tue 24 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 3.9° apart. Look for Jupiter 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 1963
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 10 Jan | 23:07 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Fri 8 Feb | 14:51 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Sun 10 Mar | 07:47 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Tue 9 Apr | 00:55 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Wed 8 May | 17:22 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Fri 7 Jun | 08:29 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Sun 7 Jul | 21:54 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Mon 5 Aug | 09:30 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Tue 3 Sep | 19:32 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Thu 3 Oct | 04:43 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Fri 1 Nov | 13:54 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Sun 1 Dec | 23:53 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Mon 30 Dec | 11:03 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1963
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 25 Jan | 13:41 | passed |
| Sun 24 Feb | 02:04 | passed |
| Mon 25 Mar | 12:08 | passed |
| Tue 23 Apr | 20:27 | passed |
| Thu 23 May | 03:59 | passed |
| Fri 21 Jun | 11:45 | passed |
| Sat 20 Jul | 20:42 | passed |
| Mon 19 Aug | 07:33 | passed |
| Tue 17 Sep | 20:50 | passed |
| Thu 17 Oct | 12:42 | passed |
| Sat 16 Nov | 06:49 | passed |
| Mon 16 Dec | 02:05 | 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 1963
No eclipse data for 1963.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1963?
The full moon is on 1 December 1963, 30 December 1963. Its traditional name is the Blue Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1963?
The new moon is on 16 December 1963. 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.