- 5 Dec, 23:25 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 12 Dec, 18:37 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 19 Dec, 12:29 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 27 Dec, 14:22 Vilnius time: new moon.
- During December 2008 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 11 January 2009 (January 2009).
Moon phase times, December 2008
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 5 Dec | First quarter | 23:25 | 21:25 |
| Fri 12 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 18:37 | 16:37 |
| Fri 19 Dec | Last quarter | 12:29 | 10:29 |
| Sat 27 Dec | New moon | 14:22 | 12:22 |
The sky: December 2008
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 | Venus and Jupiter together | Only 2.0° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Mon 1 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 1.3° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Mon 1 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 0.8° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Sat 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 98% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Thu 18 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 5.4° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sun 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 24% lit and will not interfere. |
| Mon 29 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 0.6° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Mon 29 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 0.6° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Wed 31 Dec | Mercury and Jupiter together | 1.2° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Wed 31 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 3.1° 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 2008
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 22 Jan | 13:34 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Thu 21 Feb | 03:30 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Fri 21 Mar | 18:39 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sun 20 Apr | 10:25 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Tue 20 May | 02:11 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Wed 18 Jun | 17:30 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Fri 18 Jul | 07:59 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Sun 17 Aug | 21:16 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Mon 15 Sep | 09:13 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Tue 14 Oct | 20:02 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Thu 13 Nov | 06:17 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Fri 12 Dec | 16:37 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2008
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 8 Jan | 11:37 | passed |
| Thu 7 Feb | 03:44 | passed |
| Fri 7 Mar | 17:14 | passed |
| Sun 6 Apr | 03:55 | passed |
| Mon 5 May | 12:18 | passed |
| Tue 3 Jun | 19:22 | passed |
| Thu 3 Jul | 02:18 | passed |
| Fri 1 Aug | 10:12 | passed |
| Sat 30 Aug | 19:58 | passed |
| Mon 29 Sep | 08:12 | passed |
| Wed 29 Oct | 23:13 | passed |
| Thu 27 Nov | 16:54 | passed |
| Sat 27 Dec | 12:22 | 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 2008
No eclipse data for 2008.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2008?
The full moon is on 12 December 2008. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2008?
The new moon is on 27 December 2008. 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.