- 5 Dec, 17:30 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 12 Dec, 09:29 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 20 Dec, 08:39 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 28 Dec, 10:31 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- During December 2048 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 19 January 2049 (January 2049).
Moon phase times, December 2048
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 5 Dec | New moon | 17:30 | 15:30 |
| Sat 12 Dec | First quarter | 09:29 | 07:29 |
| Sun 20 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 08:39 | 06:39 |
| Mon 28 Dec | Last quarter | 10:31 | 08:31 |
The sky: December 2048
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 7 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.1° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Sun 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 63% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Thu 17 Dec | Jupiter at opposition | The planet is opposite the Sun: it rises at sunset, is up all night and at its brightest of the year. |
| Sat 19 Dec | Mercury and Saturn together | 2.4° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
| Sun 20 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 0.3° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Mon 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 98% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Sat 26 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 20° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
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 2048
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 Jan | 06:57 | Wolf Moon | next |
| Fri 31 Jan | 00:14 | Blue Moon | |
| Sat 29 Feb | 14:38 | Snow Moon | |
| Mon 30 Mar | 02:04 | Worm Moon | |
| Tue 28 Apr | 11:13 | Pink Moon | |
| Wed 27 May | 18:57 | Flower Moon | |
| Fri 26 Jun | 02:08 | Strawberry Moon | |
| Sat 25 Jul | 09:33 | Buck Moon | |
| Sun 23 Aug | 18:07 | Sturgeon Moon | |
| Tue 22 Sep | 04:46 | Harvest Moon | |
| Wed 21 Oct | 18:25 | Hunter’s Moon | |
| Fri 20 Nov | 11:19 | Beaver Moon | |
| Sun 20 Dec | 06:39 | Cold Moon |
New moon dates 2048
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 15 Jan | 11:32 | next |
| Fri 14 Feb | 00:31 | |
| Sat 14 Mar | 14:27 | |
| Mon 13 Apr | 05:19 | |
| Tue 12 May | 20:58 | |
| Thu 11 Jun | 12:50 | |
| Sat 11 Jul | 04:04 | |
| Sun 9 Aug | 17:59 | |
| Tue 8 Sep | 06:24 | |
| Wed 7 Oct | 17:45 | |
| Fri 6 Nov | 04:38 | |
| Sat 5 Dec | 15:30 |
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 2048
No eclipse data for 2048.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2048?
The full moon is on 20 December 2048. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2048?
The new moon is on 5 December 2048. 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.