- 7 Dec, 03:33 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 14 Dec, 15:30 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 22 Dec, 20:41 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 29 Dec, 22:35 Vilnius time: new moon.
- During December 1978 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 13 January 1979 (January 1979).
Moon phase times, December 1978
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 7 Dec | First quarter | 03:33 | 00:33 |
| Thu 14 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 15:30 | 12:30 |
| Fri 22 Dec | Last quarter | 20:41 | 17:41 |
| Fri 29 Dec | New moon | 22:35 | 19:35 |
The sky: December 1978
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Thu 14 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 100% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Mon 18 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 4.0° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Thu 21 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.4° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Fri 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 48% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Sun 24 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 22° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Tue 26 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 0.8° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Thu 28 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 3.4° apart. Look for Mercury 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 1978
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 24 Jan | 07:55 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Thu 23 Feb | 01:26 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Fri 24 Mar | 16:19 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sun 23 Apr | 04:10 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Mon 22 May | 13:16 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Tue 20 Jun | 20:30 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Thu 20 Jul | 03:04 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Fri 18 Aug | 10:13 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Sat 16 Sep | 19:00 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Mon 16 Oct | 06:09 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Tue 14 Nov | 19:59 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Thu 14 Dec | 12:30 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1978
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Jan | 03:59 | passed |
| Tue 7 Feb | 14:53 | passed |
| Thu 9 Mar | 02:35 | passed |
| Fri 7 Apr | 15:14 | passed |
| Sun 7 May | 04:46 | passed |
| Mon 5 Jun | 19:01 | passed |
| Wed 5 Jul | 09:50 | passed |
| Fri 4 Aug | 01:00 | passed |
| Sat 2 Sep | 16:08 | passed |
| Mon 2 Oct | 06:40 | passed |
| Tue 31 Oct | 20:06 | passed |
| Thu 30 Nov | 08:19 | passed |
| Fri 29 Dec | 19:35 | 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 1978
No eclipse data for 1978.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1978?
The full moon is on 14 December 1978. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1978?
The new moon is on 29 December 1978. 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.