- 3 Dec, 07:05 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 10 Dec, 18:56 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 17 Dec, 11:30 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 24 Dec, 22:40 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- During December 1996 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 23 January 1997 (January 1997).
Moon phase times, December 1996
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 3 Dec | Last quarter | 07:05 | 05:05 |
| Tue 10 Dec | New moon | 18:56 | 16:56 |
| Tue 17 Dec | First quarter | 11:30 | 09:30 |
| Tue 24 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 22:40 | 20:40 |
The sky: December 1996
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Tue 3 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 3.7° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Sun 8 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 1.9° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Thu 12 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 5.1° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Fri 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 14% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sun 15 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 20° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Tue 17 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.7° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sat 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 93% 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 1996
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 5 Jan | 20:50 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sun 4 Feb | 15:57 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Tue 5 Mar | 09:22 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Thu 4 Apr | 00:06 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Fri 3 May | 11:48 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sat 1 Jun | 20:46 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Mon 1 Jul | 03:57 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Tue 30 Jul | 10:34 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Wed 28 Aug | 17:51 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Fri 27 Sep | 02:50 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sat 26 Oct | 14:11 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Mon 25 Nov | 04:09 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Tue 24 Dec | 20:40 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1996
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 20 Jan | 12:50 | passed |
| Mon 19 Feb | 23:29 | passed |
| Tue 19 Mar | 10:44 | passed |
| Thu 18 Apr | 22:48 | passed |
| Fri 17 May | 11:46 | passed |
| Sun 16 Jun | 01:35 | passed |
| Mon 15 Jul | 16:14 | passed |
| Wed 14 Aug | 07:33 | passed |
| Fri 13 Sep | 23:07 | passed |
| Sat 12 Oct | 14:14 | passed |
| Mon 11 Nov | 04:16 | passed |
| Tue 10 Dec | 16:56 | 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 1996
No eclipse data for 1996.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 1996?
The full moon is on 24 December 1996. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 1996?
The new moon is on 10 December 1996. 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.