- 7 Dec, 11:03 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 14 Dec, 02:05 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 21 Dec, 03:55 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 29 Dec, 08:53 Vilnius time: new moon.
- During December 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 12 January 2017 (January 2017).
Moon phase times, December 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 7 Dec | First quarter | 11:03 | 09:03 |
| Wed 14 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 02:05 | 00:05 |
| Wed 21 Dec | Last quarter | 03:55 | 01:55 |
| Thu 29 Dec | New moon | 08:53 | 06:53 |
The sky: December 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
| Sat 3 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 5.8° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Mon 5 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 2.9° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Sun 11 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Tue 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 100% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Wed 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 40% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Thu 22 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.3° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Tue 27 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 3.6° apart, but Saturn is not visible that night. |
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 December 2016?
The full moon is on 14 December 2016. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2016?
The new moon is on 29 December 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.