- 8 Jan, 16:30 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 16 Jan, 13:51 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 23 Jan, 12:28 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 30 Jan, 13:57 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Wolf Moon.
- During January 1972 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 February 1972 (February 1972).
Moon phase times, January 1972
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 8 Jan | Last quarter | 16:30 | 13:30 |
| Sun 16 Jan | New moon | 13:51 | 10:51 |
| Sun 23 Jan | First quarter | 12:28 | 09:28 |
| Sun 30 Jan | Full moon · Wolf Moon | 13:57 | 10:57 |
The sky: January 1972
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 1 Jan | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 23° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Mon 3 Jan | Quadrantids meteor shower peak | Up to 80 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 86% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Fri 7 Jan | Mercury and Jupiter together | 0.7° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Fri 14 Jan | The Moon near Jupiter | About 3.8° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Fri 14 Jan | The Moon near Mercury | About 2.7° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Wed 19 Jan | The Moon near Venus | About 4.0° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Sat 22 Jan | The Moon near Mars | About 4.8° apart. Look for Mars 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 1972
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 30 Jan | 10:57 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Tue 29 Feb | 03:11 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Wed 29 Mar | 20:05 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Fri 28 Apr | 12:43 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sun 28 May | 04:27 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Mon 26 Jun | 18:45 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Wed 26 Jul | 07:23 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Thu 24 Aug | 18:21 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Sat 23 Sep | 04:06 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sun 22 Oct | 13:24 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Tue 21 Nov | 23:06 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Wed 20 Dec | 09:44 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1972
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 16 Jan | 10:51 | passed |
| Tue 15 Feb | 00:28 | passed |
| Wed 15 Mar | 11:34 | passed |
| Thu 13 Apr | 20:30 | passed |
| Sat 13 May | 04:07 | passed |
| Sun 11 Jun | 11:29 | passed |
| Mon 10 Jul | 19:38 | passed |
| Wed 9 Aug | 05:25 | passed |
| Thu 7 Sep | 17:28 | passed |
| Sat 7 Oct | 08:07 | passed |
| Mon 6 Nov | 01:20 | passed |
| Tue 5 Dec | 20:23 | 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 1972
No eclipse data for 1972.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in January 1972?
The full moon is on 30 January 1972. Its traditional name is the Wolf Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in January 1972?
The new moon is on 16 January 1972. 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.