- 8 Dec, 22:36 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 16 Dec, 19:42 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 23 Dec, 11:42 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 30 Dec, 12:03 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- During December 2003 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 7 January 2004 (January 2004).
Moon phase times, December 2003
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 8 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 22:36 | 20:36 |
| Tue 16 Dec | Last quarter | 19:42 | 17:42 |
| Tue 23 Dec | New moon | 11:42 | 09:42 |
| Tue 30 Dec | First quarter | 12:03 | 10:03 |
The sky: December 2003
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Mon 1 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 3.7° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Tue 9 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Wed 10 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 4.8° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sun 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. |
| Tue 16 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 3.4° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Mon 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 0% lit and will not interfere. |
| Thu 25 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 3.2° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Tue 30 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 3.4° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Wed 31 Dec | Saturn at opposition | The planet is opposite the Sun: it rises at sunset, is up all night and at its brightest of the year. |
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 2003
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 18 Jan | 10:47 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Mon 17 Feb | 23:51 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Tue 18 Mar | 10:34 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Wed 16 Apr | 19:35 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Fri 16 May | 03:35 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sat 14 Jun | 11:15 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Sun 13 Jul | 19:21 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Tue 12 Aug | 04:48 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Wed 10 Sep | 16:36 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Fri 10 Oct | 07:27 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sun 9 Nov | 01:13 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Mon 8 Dec | 20:36 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2003
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 2 Jan | 20:22 | passed |
| Sat 1 Feb | 10:48 | passed |
| Mon 3 Mar | 02:34 | passed |
| Tue 1 Apr | 19:18 | passed |
| Thu 1 May | 12:14 | passed |
| Sat 31 May | 04:19 | passed |
| Sun 29 Jun | 18:38 | passed |
| Tue 29 Jul | 06:52 | passed |
| Wed 27 Aug | 17:26 | passed |
| Fri 26 Sep | 03:09 | passed |
| Sat 25 Oct | 12:50 | passed |
| Mon 24 Nov | 22:58 | passed |
| Tue 23 Dec | 09:42 | 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 2003
No eclipse data for 2003.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2003?
The full moon is on 8 December 2003. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2003?
The new moon is on 23 December 2003. 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.