- 2 Dec, 11:52 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 10 Dec, 16:36 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 18 Dec, 02:47 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 24 Dec, 20:06 Vilnius time: new moon.
- During December 2011 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 9 January 2012 (January 2012).
Moon phase times, December 2011
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 2 Dec | First quarter | 11:52 | 09:52 |
| Sat 10 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 16:36 | 14:36 |
| Sun 18 Dec | Last quarter | 02:47 | 00:47 |
| Sat 24 Dec | New moon | 20:06 | 18:06 |
The sky: December 2011
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 6 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 5.0° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Wed 14 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 84% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Thu 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. |
| Fri 23 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 22° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Fri 23 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 2.6° apart. Look for Mercury 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 2011
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 19 Jan | 21:21 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Fri 18 Feb | 08:35 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Sat 19 Mar | 18:09 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Mon 18 Apr | 02:43 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Tue 17 May | 11:08 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Wed 15 Jun | 20:13 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Fri 15 Jul | 06:39 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Sat 13 Aug | 18:57 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Mon 12 Sep | 09:26 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Wed 12 Oct | 02:05 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Thu 10 Nov | 20:16 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Sat 10 Dec | 14:36 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2011
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 4 Jan | 09:02 | passed |
| Thu 3 Feb | 02:30 | passed |
| Fri 4 Mar | 20:45 | passed |
| Sun 3 Apr | 14:32 | passed |
| Tue 3 May | 06:50 | passed |
| Thu 2 Jun | 21:02 | passed |
| Fri 1 Jul | 08:53 | passed |
| Sat 30 Jul | 18:39 | passed |
| Mon 29 Aug | 03:04 | passed |
| Tue 27 Sep | 11:08 | passed |
| Wed 26 Oct | 19:55 | passed |
| Fri 25 Nov | 06:09 | passed |
| Sat 24 Dec | 18:06 | 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 2011
No eclipse data for 2011.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2011?
The full moon is on 10 December 2011. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2011?
The new moon is on 24 December 2011. 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.