- 4 Dec, 08:58 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 12 Dec, 07:12 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 19 Dec, 06:57 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 26 Dec, 07:13 Vilnius time: new moon.
- During December 2019 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 10 January 2020 (January 2020).
Moon phase times, December 2019
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 4 Dec | First quarter | 08:58 | 06:58 |
| Thu 12 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 07:12 | 05:12 |
| Thu 19 Dec | Last quarter | 06:57 | 04:57 |
| Thu 26 Dec | New moon | 07:13 | 05:13 |
The sky: December 2019
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 11 Dec | Venus and Saturn together | Only 1.8° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Sat 14 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 94% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Sun 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 13% lit and will not interfere. |
| Mon 23 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 3.3° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Fri 27 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 1.2° apart, but Saturn is not visible that night. |
| Sun 29 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 1.0° apart. Look for Venus 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 2019
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 21 Jan | 05:16 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Tue 19 Feb | 15:53 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Thu 21 Mar | 01:42 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Fri 19 Apr | 11:12 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Sun 19 May | 21:11 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Mon 17 Jun | 08:30 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Wed 17 Jul | 21:38 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Thu 15 Aug | 12:29 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Sat 14 Sep | 04:32 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Mon 14 Oct | 21:08 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Tue 12 Nov | 13:34 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Thu 12 Dec | 05:12 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2019
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 6 Jan | 01:28 | passed |
| Mon 4 Feb | 21:03 | passed |
| Wed 6 Mar | 16:03 | passed |
| Fri 5 Apr | 08:50 | passed |
| Sun 5 May | 22:45 | passed |
| Mon 3 Jun | 10:01 | passed |
| Tue 2 Jul | 19:16 | passed |
| Thu 1 Aug | 03:11 | passed |
| Fri 30 Aug | 10:37 | passed |
| Sat 28 Sep | 18:26 | passed |
| Mon 28 Oct | 03:38 | passed |
| Tue 26 Nov | 15:05 | passed |
| Thu 26 Dec | 05:13 | 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 2019
No eclipse data for 2019.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2019?
The full moon is on 12 December 2019. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2019?
The new moon is on 26 December 2019. 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.