- 3 Dec, 17:46 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 10 Dec, 09:51 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 18 Dec, 08:30 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 26 Dec, 11:20 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- During December 2017 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 2 January 2018 (January 2018).
Moon phase times, December 2017
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 3 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 17:46 | 15:46 |
| Sun 10 Dec | Last quarter | 09:51 | 07:51 |
| Mon 18 Dec | New moon | 08:30 | 06:30 |
| Tue 26 Dec | First quarter | 11:20 | 09:20 |
The sky: December 2017
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Wed 13 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 3.9° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Wed 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 16% lit and will not interfere. |
| Thu 14 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 4.1° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Thu 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 14% lit and will not interfere. |
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 2017
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 12 Jan | 11:33 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sat 11 Feb | 00:32 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Sun 12 Mar | 14:53 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Tue 11 Apr | 06:08 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Thu 11 May | 21:42 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Fri 9 Jun | 13:09 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Sun 9 Jul | 04:06 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Mon 7 Aug | 18:10 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Wed 6 Sep | 07:02 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Thu 5 Oct | 18:40 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sat 4 Nov | 05:22 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Sun 3 Dec | 15:46 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2017
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 28 Jan | 00:07 | passed |
| Sun 26 Feb | 14:58 | passed |
| Tue 28 Mar | 02:57 | passed |
| Wed 26 Apr | 12:16 | passed |
| Thu 25 May | 19:44 | passed |
| Sat 24 Jun | 02:30 | passed |
| Sun 23 Jul | 09:45 | passed |
| Mon 21 Aug | 18:30 | passed |
| Wed 20 Sep | 05:29 | passed |
| Thu 19 Oct | 19:12 | passed |
| Sat 18 Nov | 11:42 | passed |
| Mon 18 Dec | 06:30 | 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 2017
No eclipse data for 2017.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2017?
The full moon is on 3 December 2017. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2017?
The new moon is on 18 December 2017. 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.