- 3 Dec, 21:07 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 11 Dec, 16:58 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 19 Dec, 11:23 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 26 Dec, 08:10 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- During December 1979 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 2 January 1980 (January 1980).
Moon phase times, December 1979
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 3 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 21:07 | 18:07 |
| Tue 11 Dec | Last quarter | 16:58 | 13:58 |
| Wed 19 Dec | New moon | 11:23 | 08:23 |
| Wed 26 Dec | First quarter | 08:10 | 05:10 |
The sky: December 1979
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Fri 7 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Mon 10 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 2.0° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Mon 10 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 0.4° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Wed 12 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 0.1° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Fri 14 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 21% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sat 15 Dec | Mars and Jupiter together | Only 1.6° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Mon 17 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 3.9° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Fri 21 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 4.5° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Sat 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 18% lit and will not interfere. |
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 1979
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 13 Jan | 07:08 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Mon 12 Feb | 02:39 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Wed 14 Mar | 21:13 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Thu 12 Apr | 13:14 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sat 12 May | 02:00 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sun 10 Jun | 11:54 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Mon 9 Jul | 19:58 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Wed 8 Aug | 03:20 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Thu 6 Sep | 10:58 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Fri 5 Oct | 19:34 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sun 4 Nov | 05:46 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Mon 3 Dec | 18:07 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1979
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 28 Jan | 06:19 | passed |
| Mon 26 Feb | 16:44 | passed |
| Wed 28 Mar | 02:59 | passed |
| Thu 26 Apr | 13:14 | passed |
| Sat 26 May | 00:00 | passed |
| Sun 24 Jun | 11:57 | passed |
| Tue 24 Jul | 01:40 | passed |
| Wed 22 Aug | 17:10 | passed |
| Fri 21 Sep | 09:46 | passed |
| Sun 21 Oct | 02:22 | passed |
| Mon 19 Nov | 18:03 | passed |
| Wed 19 Dec | 08:23 | 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 1979
No eclipse data for 1979.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1979?
The full moon is on 3 December 1979. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1979?
The new moon is on 19 December 1979. 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.