- 4 Dec, 15:25 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 12 Dec, 16:08 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 20 Dec, 04:59 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 26 Dec, 21:52 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During December 1983 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 18 January 1984 (January 1984).
Moon phase times, December 1983
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 4 Dec | New moon | 15:25 | 12:25 |
| Mon 12 Dec | First quarter | 16:08 | 13:08 |
| Tue 20 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 04:59 | 01:59 |
| Mon 26 Dec | Last quarter | 21:52 | 18:52 |
The sky: December 1983
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 1 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 2.2° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Fri 2 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 0.8° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Tue 6 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 0.9° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Tue 13 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Wed 14 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 71% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Sat 17 Dec | Venus and Saturn together | Only 0.1° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Thu 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 88% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Wed 28 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 2.6° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Thu 29 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 0.5° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Fri 30 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 0.6° apart. Look for Venus 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 1983
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 29 Jan | 22:25 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sun 27 Feb | 08:57 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Mon 28 Mar | 19:26 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Wed 27 Apr | 06:30 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Thu 26 May | 18:47 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sat 25 Jun | 08:31 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Mon 25 Jul | 23:26 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Tue 23 Aug | 14:59 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Thu 22 Sep | 06:36 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sat 22 Oct | 21:53 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sun 20 Nov | 12:29 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Tue 20 Dec | 01:59 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1983
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 14 Jan | 05:07 | passed |
| Sun 13 Feb | 00:31 | passed |
| Mon 14 Mar | 17:43 | passed |
| Wed 13 Apr | 07:58 | passed |
| Thu 12 May | 19:24 | passed |
| Sat 11 Jun | 04:37 | passed |
| Sun 10 Jul | 12:18 | passed |
| Mon 8 Aug | 19:17 | passed |
| Wed 7 Sep | 02:34 | passed |
| Thu 6 Oct | 11:15 | passed |
| Sat 5 Nov | 22:20 | passed |
| Sun 4 Dec | 12:25 | 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 1983
No eclipse data for 1983.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1983?
The full moon is on 20 December 1983. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1983?
The new moon is on 4 December 1983. 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.