- 5 Dec, 02:24 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 12 Dec, 16:31 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 20 Dec, 16:00 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 27 Dec, 16:47 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- During December 2006 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 3 January 2007 (January 2007).
Moon phase times, December 2006
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 5 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 02:24 | 00:24 |
| Tue 12 Dec | Last quarter | 16:31 | 14:31 |
| Wed 20 Dec | New moon | 16:00 | 14:00 |
| Wed 27 Dec | First quarter | 16:47 | 14:47 |
The sky: December 2006
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Sun 10 Dec | Mercury and Mars together | 1.0° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Sun 10 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 1.1° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Mon 11 Dec | Mars and Jupiter together | 0.8° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Wed 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 34% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Mon 18 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 5.5° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Tue 19 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 4.7° apart, but Mars is not visible that night. |
| Fri 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 5% 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 2006
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 14 Jan | 09:48 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Mon 13 Feb | 04:44 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Wed 15 Mar | 23:35 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Thu 13 Apr | 16:40 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sat 13 May | 06:50 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sun 11 Jun | 18:03 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Tue 11 Jul | 03:01 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Wed 9 Aug | 10:53 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Thu 7 Sep | 18:41 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sat 7 Oct | 03:12 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sun 5 Nov | 12:58 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Tue 5 Dec | 00:24 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2006
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 29 Jan | 14:14 | passed |
| Tue 28 Feb | 00:30 | passed |
| Wed 29 Mar | 10:15 | passed |
| Thu 27 Apr | 19:43 | passed |
| Sat 27 May | 05:25 | passed |
| Sun 25 Jun | 16:05 | passed |
| Tue 25 Jul | 04:30 | passed |
| Wed 23 Aug | 19:09 | passed |
| Fri 22 Sep | 11:44 | passed |
| Sun 22 Oct | 05:14 | passed |
| Tue 21 Nov | 22:17 | passed |
| Wed 20 Dec | 14:00 | 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 2006
No eclipse data for 2006.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2006?
The full moon is on 5 December 2006. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2006?
The new moon is on 20 December 2006. 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.