- 5 Dec, 07:49 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 13 Dec, 01:32 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 19 Dec, 20:39 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 27 Dec, 02:33 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- During December 2023 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 25 January 2024 (January 2024).
Moon phase times, December 2023
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 5 Dec | Last quarter | 07:49 | 05:49 |
| Wed 13 Dec | New moon | 01:32 | 23:32 |
| Tue 19 Dec | First quarter | 20:39 | 18:39 |
| Wed 27 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 02:33 | 00:33 |
The sky: December 2023
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 4 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Sat 9 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 3.3° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Thu 14 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 4.4° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Wed 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 3% lit and will not interfere. |
| Mon 18 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.3° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Fri 22 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.4° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Fri 22 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 82% 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 2023
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 7 Jan | 23:08 | Wolf Moon | passed |
| Sun 5 Feb | 18:28 | Snow Moon | passed |
| Tue 7 Mar | 12:40 | Worm Moon | passed |
| Thu 6 Apr | 04:34 | Pink Moon | passed |
| Fri 5 May | 17:34 | Flower Moon | passed |
| Sun 4 Jun | 03:41 | Strawberry Moon | passed |
| Mon 3 Jul | 11:38 | Buck Moon | passed |
| Tue 1 Aug | 18:31 | Sturgeon Moon | passed |
| Thu 31 Aug | 01:35 | Blue Moon | passed |
| Fri 29 Sep | 09:57 | Harvest Moon | passed |
| Sat 28 Oct | 20:24 | Hunter’s Moon | passed |
| Mon 27 Nov | 09:16 | Beaver Moon | passed |
| Wed 27 Dec | 00:33 | Cold Moon | passed |
New moon dates 2023
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 21 Jan | 20:53 | passed |
| Mon 20 Feb | 07:05 | passed |
| Tue 21 Mar | 17:23 | passed |
| Thu 20 Apr | 04:12 | passed |
| Fri 19 May | 15:53 | passed |
| Sun 18 Jun | 04:37 | passed |
| Mon 17 Jul | 18:31 | passed |
| Wed 16 Aug | 09:38 | passed |
| Fri 15 Sep | 01:39 | passed |
| Sat 14 Oct | 17:55 | passed |
| Mon 13 Nov | 09:27 | passed |
| Wed 13 Dec | 23:32 | 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 2023
No eclipse data for 2023.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2023?
The full moon is on 27 December 2023. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2023?
The new moon is on 13 December 2023. 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.