- 5 Dec, 23:23 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 13 Dec, 21:35 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 20 Dec, 12:44 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 27 Dec, 13:27 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During December 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 19 January 1973 (January 1973).
Moon phase times, December 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 5 Dec | New moon | 23:23 | 20:23 |
| Wed 13 Dec | First quarter | 21:35 | 18:35 |
| Wed 20 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 12:44 | 09:44 |
| Wed 27 Dec | Last quarter | 13:27 | 10:27 |
The sky: December 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
| Sun 3 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 5.3° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Mon 4 Dec | Venus and Mars together | Only 1.2° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Fri 8 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 0.3° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Sat 9 Dec | Saturn at opposition | The planet is opposite the Sun: it rises at sunset, is up all night and at its brightest of the year. |
| Wed 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 54% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Thu 14 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Tue 19 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 4.3° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Thu 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 94% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
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 December 1972?
The full moon is on 20 December 1972. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1972?
The new moon is on 5 December 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.