- 8 Dec, 06:08 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 16 Dec, 10:56 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 23 Dec, 12:16 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 30 Dec, 03:20 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- During December 2022 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 7 January 2023 (January 2023).
Moon phase times, December 2022
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 8 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 06:08 | 04:08 |
| Fri 16 Dec | Last quarter | 10:56 | 08:56 |
| Fri 23 Dec | New moon | 12:16 | 10:16 |
| Fri 30 Dec | First quarter | 03:20 | 01:20 |
The sky: December 2022
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Fri 2 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.2° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Thu 8 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 0.6° apart. Look for Mars next to the Moon. |
| Thu 8 Dec | Mars at opposition | The planet is opposite the Sun: it rises at sunset, is up all night and at its brightest of the year. |
| Tue 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 70% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Wed 21 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 20° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Thu 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 1% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sat 24 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 3.5° apart, but Venus is not visible that night. |
| Sat 24 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 3.7° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Mon 26 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 3.8° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Thu 29 Dec | Mercury and Venus together | 1.4° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Thu 29 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.1° apart. Look for Jupiter 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 2022
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 18 Jan | 23:48 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Wed 16 Feb | 16:56 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Fri 18 Mar | 07:17 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Sat 16 Apr | 18:54 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Mon 16 May | 04:14 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Tue 14 Jun | 11:51 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Wed 13 Jul | 18:37 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Fri 12 Aug | 01:35 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Sat 10 Sep | 09:58 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sun 9 Oct | 20:54 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Tue 8 Nov | 11:02 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Thu 8 Dec | 04:08 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2022
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 2 Jan | 18:33 | passed |
| Tue 1 Feb | 05:46 | passed |
| Wed 2 Mar | 17:34 | passed |
| Fri 1 Apr | 06:24 | passed |
| Sat 30 Apr | 20:28 | passed |
| Mon 30 May | 11:30 | passed |
| Wed 29 Jun | 02:52 | passed |
| Thu 28 Jul | 17:54 | passed |
| Sat 27 Aug | 08:17 | passed |
| Mon 26 Sep | 21:54 | passed |
| Tue 25 Oct | 10:48 | passed |
| Thu 24 Nov | 22:57 | passed |
| Fri 23 Dec | 10:16 | 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 2022
No eclipse data for 2022.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2022?
The full moon is on 8 December 2022. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2022?
The new moon is on 23 December 2022. 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.