- 6 Dec, 13:09 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 13 Dec, 19:24 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 21 Dec, 22:43 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 29 Dec, 06:50 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- During December 1974 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 27 January 1975 (January 1975).
Moon phase times, December 1974
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 6 Dec | Last quarter | 13:09 | 10:09 |
| Fri 13 Dec | New moon | 19:24 | 16:24 |
| Sat 21 Dec | First quarter | 22:43 | 19:43 |
| Sun 29 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 06:50 | 03:50 |
The sky: December 1974
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Mon 2 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.8° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Thu 12 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 0.9° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| 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. |
| Sun 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 61% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Sun 29 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.7° apart. Look for Saturn 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 1974
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 8 Jan | 12:35 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Thu 7 Feb | 23:23 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Fri 8 Mar | 10:02 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sat 6 Apr | 20:59 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Mon 6 May | 08:54 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Wed 5 Jun | 22:09 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Thu 4 Jul | 12:39 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Sat 3 Aug | 03:56 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Sun 1 Sep | 19:24 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Tue 1 Oct | 10:37 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Thu 31 Oct | 01:18 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Fri 29 Nov | 15:09 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Sun 29 Dec | 03:50 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1974
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 23 Jan | 11:01 | passed |
| Fri 22 Feb | 05:33 | passed |
| Sun 24 Mar | 21:23 | passed |
| Mon 22 Apr | 10:16 | passed |
| Tue 21 May | 20:33 | passed |
| Thu 20 Jun | 04:55 | passed |
| Fri 19 Jul | 12:05 | passed |
| Sat 17 Aug | 19:01 | passed |
| Mon 16 Sep | 02:44 | passed |
| Tue 15 Oct | 12:24 | passed |
| Thu 14 Nov | 00:52 | passed |
| Fri 13 Dec | 16:24 | 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 1974
No eclipse data for 1974.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1974?
The full moon is on 29 December 1974. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1974?
The new moon is on 13 December 1974. 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.