- 2 Jan, 03:44 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 9 Jan, 06:25 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 15 Jan, 22:01 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 23 Jan, 17:10 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Wolf Moon.
- 31 Jan, 21:40 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During January 1997 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 22 February 1997 (February 1997).
Moon phase times, January 1997
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 2 Jan | Last quarter | 03:44 | 01:44 |
| Thu 9 Jan | New moon | 06:25 | 04:25 |
| Wed 15 Jan | First quarter | 22:01 | 20:01 |
| Thu 23 Jan | Full moon · Wolf Moon | 17:10 | 15:10 |
| Fri 31 Jan | Last quarter | 21:40 | 19:40 |
The sky: January 1997
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Wed 1 Jan | The Moon near Mars | About 2.9° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Thu 2 Jan | Quadrantids meteor shower peak | Up to 80 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 36% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Tue 7 Jan | The Moon near Venus | About 4.5° apart, but Venus is not visible that night. |
| Sun 12 Jan | Mercury and Venus together | 2.7° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Tue 14 Jan | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.2° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Fri 24 Jan | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 25° in the morning sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Tue 28 Jan | The Moon near Mars | About 2.7° apart. Look for Mars 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 1997
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 23 Jan | 15:10 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sat 22 Feb | 10:26 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Mon 24 Mar | 04:45 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Tue 22 Apr | 20:33 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Thu 22 May | 09:13 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Fri 20 Jun | 19:08 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Sun 20 Jul | 03:20 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Mon 18 Aug | 10:55 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Tue 16 Sep | 18:50 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Thu 16 Oct | 03:45 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Fri 14 Nov | 14:11 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Sun 14 Dec | 02:36 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 1997
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 9 Jan | 04:25 | passed |
| Fri 7 Feb | 15:06 | passed |
| Sun 9 Mar | 01:14 | passed |
| Mon 7 Apr | 11:01 | passed |
| Tue 6 May | 20:46 | passed |
| Thu 5 Jun | 07:03 | passed |
| Fri 4 Jul | 18:39 | passed |
| Sun 3 Aug | 08:13 | passed |
| Tue 2 Sep | 23:51 | passed |
| Wed 1 Oct | 16:51 | passed |
| Fri 31 Oct | 10:01 | passed |
| Sun 30 Nov | 02:13 | passed |
| Mon 29 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 1997
No eclipse data for 1997.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in January 1997?
The full moon is on 23 January 1997. Its traditional name is the Wolf Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in January 1997?
The new moon is on 9 January 1997. 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.