- 7 Dec, 09:20 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 15 Dec, 13:49 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 22 Dec, 19:48 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 29 Dec, 11:34 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During December 2018 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 21 January 2019 (January 2019).
Moon phase times, December 2018
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 7 Dec | New moon | 09:20 | 07:20 |
| Sat 15 Dec | First quarter | 13:49 | 11:49 |
| Sat 22 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 19:48 | 17:48 |
| Sat 29 Dec | Last quarter | 11:34 | 09:34 |
The sky: December 2018
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 | The Moon near Venus | About 3.4° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Wed 5 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 1.8° apart. Look for Mercury next to the Moon. |
| Sun 9 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 1.1° apart, but Saturn is not visible that night. |
| Thu 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 39% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Sat 15 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 3.4° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Sat 15 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Fri 21 Dec | Mercury and Jupiter together | Only 0.8° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Sat 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 100% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
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 2018
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 2 Jan | 02:24 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Wed 31 Jan | 13:26 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Fri 2 Mar | 00:51 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sat 31 Mar | 12:36 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Mon 30 Apr | 00:58 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Tue 29 May | 14:19 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Thu 28 Jun | 04:53 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Fri 27 Jul | 20:20 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Sun 26 Aug | 11:56 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Tue 25 Sep | 02:52 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Wed 24 Oct | 16:45 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Fri 23 Nov | 05:39 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Sat 22 Dec | 17:48 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2018
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 17 Jan | 02:17 | passed |
| Thu 15 Feb | 21:05 | passed |
| Sat 17 Mar | 13:11 | passed |
| Mon 16 Apr | 01:57 | passed |
| Tue 15 May | 11:47 | passed |
| Wed 13 Jun | 19:43 | passed |
| Fri 13 Jul | 02:47 | passed |
| Sat 11 Aug | 09:57 | passed |
| Sun 9 Sep | 18:01 | passed |
| Tue 9 Oct | 03:46 | passed |
| Wed 7 Nov | 16:02 | passed |
| Fri 7 Dec | 07:20 | 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 2018
No eclipse data for 2018.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2018?
The full moon is on 22 December 2018. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2018?
The new moon is on 7 December 2018. 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.