- 2 Aug, 23:44 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 10 Aug, 21:21 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 18 Aug, 12:26 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Sturgeon Moon.
- 25 Aug, 06:40 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During August 2016 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 16 September 2016 (September 2016).
Moon phase times, August 2016
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 2 Aug | New moon | 23:44 | 20:44 |
| Wed 10 Aug | First quarter | 21:21 | 18:21 |
| Thu 18 Aug | Full moon · Sturgeon Moon | 12:26 | 09:26 |
| Thu 25 Aug | Last quarter | 06:40 | 03:40 |
The sky: August 2016
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Thu 4 Aug | The Moon near Venus | About 2.8° apart, but Venus is not visible that night. |
| Thu 4 Aug | The Moon near Mercury | About 0.5° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Sat 6 Aug | The Moon near Jupiter | About 0.3° apart, but Jupiter is not visible that night. |
| Thu 11 Aug | Perseids meteor shower peak | Up to 100 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 65% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Fri 12 Aug | The Moon near Saturn | About 3.6° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Tue 16 Aug | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 27° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Sun 28 Aug | Venus and Jupiter together | 0.1° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
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 2016
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 24 Jan | 01:45 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Mon 22 Feb | 18:19 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Wed 23 Mar | 12:00 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Fri 22 Apr | 05:23 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sun 22 May | 21:14 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Mon 20 Jun | 11:02 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Wed 20 Jul | 22:56 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Thu 18 Aug | 09:26 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Fri 16 Sep | 19:05 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sun 16 Oct | 04:23 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Mon 14 Nov | 13:52 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Wed 14 Dec | 00:05 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2016
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 10 Jan | 01:30 | passed |
| Mon 8 Feb | 14:38 | passed |
| Wed 9 Mar | 01:54 | passed |
| Thu 7 Apr | 11:23 | passed |
| Fri 6 May | 19:29 | passed |
| Sun 5 Jun | 02:59 | passed |
| Mon 4 Jul | 11:01 | passed |
| Tue 2 Aug | 20:44 | passed |
| Thu 1 Sep | 09:03 | passed |
| Sat 1 Oct | 00:11 | passed |
| Sun 30 Oct | 17:38 | passed |
| Tue 29 Nov | 12:18 | passed |
| Thu 29 Dec | 06:53 | 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 2016
No eclipse data for 2016.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in August 2016?
The full moon is on 18 August 2016. Its traditional name is the Sturgeon Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in August 2016?
The new moon is on 2 August 2016. 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.