- 8 Dec, 02:36 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 14 Dec, 18:16 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 22 Dec, 01:41 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 30 Dec, 05:28 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- During December 2020 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 28 January 2021 (January 2021).
Moon phase times, December 2020
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 8 Dec | Last quarter | 02:36 | 00:36 |
| Mon 14 Dec | New moon | 18:16 | 16:16 |
| Tue 22 Dec | First quarter | 01:41 | 23:41 |
| Wed 30 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 05:28 | 03:28 |
The sky: December 2020
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 12 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 0.8° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Sun 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 1% lit and will not interfere. |
| Thu 17 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.9° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Thu 17 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 3.0° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Mon 21 Dec | Jupiter and Saturn together | Only 0.1° apart: both fit in a binocular field. |
| Mon 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 51% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Wed 23 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 5.1° apart. Look for Mars 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 2020
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 10 Jan | 19:21 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sun 9 Feb | 07:33 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Mon 9 Mar | 17:47 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Wed 8 Apr | 02:34 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Thu 7 May | 10:45 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Fri 5 Jun | 19:12 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Sun 5 Jul | 04:44 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Mon 3 Aug | 15:58 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Wed 2 Sep | 05:22 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Fri 2 Oct | 21:05 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Sat 31 Oct | 14:49 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Mon 30 Nov | 09:29 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Wed 30 Dec | 03:28 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2020
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 24 Jan | 21:42 | passed |
| Sun 23 Feb | 15:31 | passed |
| Tue 24 Mar | 09:28 | passed |
| Thu 23 Apr | 02:25 | passed |
| Fri 22 May | 17:38 | passed |
| Sun 21 Jun | 06:41 | passed |
| Mon 20 Jul | 17:32 | passed |
| Wed 19 Aug | 02:41 | passed |
| Thu 17 Sep | 11:00 | passed |
| Fri 16 Oct | 19:30 | passed |
| Sun 15 Nov | 05:07 | passed |
| Mon 14 Dec | 16:16 | 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 2020
No eclipse data for 2020.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2020?
The full moon is on 30 December 2020. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2020?
The new moon is on 14 December 2020. 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.