- 3 Dec, 14:46 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 11 Dec, 19:30 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 19 Dec, 11:29 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 26 Dec, 03:02 Vilnius time: new moon.
- During December 2038 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 2039 (January 2039).
Moon phase times, December 2038
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 3 Dec | First quarter | 14:46 | 12:46 |
| Sat 11 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 19:30 | 17:30 |
| Sun 19 Dec | Last quarter | 11:29 | 09:29 |
| Sun 26 Dec | New moon | 03:02 | 01:02 |
The sky: December 2038
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 10 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 21° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Mon 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 95% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Fri 17 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 3.7° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Sun 19 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 3.2° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Tue 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 17% lit and will not interfere. |
| Fri 24 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 0.8° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Fri 24 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 1.7° apart, but Mars is not visible that night. |
| Sat 25 Dec | Mercury and Mars together | 0.8° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Mon 27 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 0.7° apart, but Venus is not visible that night. |
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 2038
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 21 Jan | 04:00 | Wolf Moon | next |
| Fri 19 Feb | 16:09 | Snow Moon | |
| Sun 21 Mar | 02:09 | Worm Moon | |
| Mon 19 Apr | 10:36 | Pink Moon | |
| Tue 18 May | 18:23 | Flower Moon | |
| Thu 17 Jun | 02:30 | Strawberry Moon | |
| Fri 16 Jul | 11:48 | Buck Moon | |
| Sun 15 Aug | 22:56 | Sturgeon Moon | |
| Mon 13 Sep | 12:24 | Harvest Moon | |
| Wed 13 Oct | 04:21 | Hunter’s Moon | |
| Fri 12 Nov | 22:27 | Beaver Moon | |
| Sat 11 Dec | 17:30 | Cold Moon |
New moon dates 2038
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 5 Jan | 13:41 | next |
| Thu 4 Feb | 05:52 | |
| Sat 6 Mar | 23:15 | |
| Sun 4 Apr | 16:43 | |
| Tue 4 May | 09:19 | |
| Thu 3 Jun | 00:24 | |
| Fri 2 Jul | 13:32 | |
| Sun 1 Aug | 00:40 | |
| Mon 30 Aug | 10:12 | |
| Tue 28 Sep | 18:57 | |
| Thu 28 Oct | 03:52 | |
| Fri 26 Nov | 13:46 | |
| Sun 26 Dec | 01:02 |
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 2038
No eclipse data for 2038.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2038?
The full moon is on 11 December 2038. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2038?
The new moon is on 26 December 2038. 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.