- 6 Dec, 17:31 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 13 Dec, 10:41 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 20 Dec, 07:19 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 28 Dec, 12:21 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- During December 2012 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 27 January 2013 (January 2013).
Moon phase times, December 2012
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 6 Dec | Last quarter | 17:31 | 15:31 |
| Thu 13 Dec | New moon | 10:41 | 08:41 |
| Thu 20 Dec | First quarter | 07:19 | 05:19 |
| Fri 28 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 12:21 | 10:21 |
The sky: December 2012
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 3 Dec | Jupiter at opposition | The planet is opposite the Sun: it rises at sunset, is up all night and at its brightest of the year. |
| Tue 4 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Mon 10 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 3.9° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Tue 11 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 1.6° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Wed 12 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 1.1° apart. Look for Mercury next to the Moon. |
| Thu 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 0% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sat 15 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 5.5° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Fri 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 69% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Wed 26 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 0.4° apart. Look for Jupiter 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 2012
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Jan | 07:30 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Tue 7 Feb | 21:53 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Thu 8 Mar | 09:39 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Fri 6 Apr | 19:18 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sun 6 May | 03:35 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Mon 4 Jun | 11:11 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Tue 3 Jul | 18:51 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Thu 2 Aug | 03:27 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Fri 31 Aug | 13:58 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Sun 30 Sep | 03:18 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Mon 29 Oct | 19:49 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Wed 28 Nov | 14:46 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Fri 28 Dec | 10:21 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2012
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 23 Jan | 07:39 | passed |
| Wed 22 Feb | 22:34 | passed |
| Thu 22 Mar | 14:37 | passed |
| Sat 21 Apr | 07:18 | passed |
| Mon 21 May | 23:47 | passed |
| Tue 19 Jun | 15:02 | passed |
| Thu 19 Jul | 04:24 | passed |
| Fri 17 Aug | 15:54 | passed |
| Sun 16 Sep | 02:10 | passed |
| Mon 15 Oct | 12:02 | passed |
| Wed 14 Nov | 22:07 | passed |
| Thu 13 Dec | 08:41 | 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 2012
No eclipse data for 2012.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2012?
The full moon is on 28 December 2012. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2012?
The new moon is on 13 December 2012. 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.