- 2 Dec, 21:22 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 9 Dec, 19:00 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 17 Dec, 15:51 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 25 Dec, 09:16 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- During December 2072 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 23 January 2073 (January 2073).
Moon phase times, December 2072
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 2 Dec | Last quarter | 21:22 | 19:22 |
| Fri 9 Dec | New moon | 19:00 | 17:00 |
| Sat 17 Dec | First quarter | 15:51 | 13:51 |
| Sun 25 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 09:16 | 07:16 |
The sky: December 2072
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Wed 7 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 2.8° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
| Mon 12 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 14% lit and will not interfere. |
| Tue 13 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 4.3° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Wed 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 86% lit: only the brightest meteors will show. |
| Sun 25 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 4.1° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Mon 26 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. |
| Mon 26 Dec | Venus farthest from the Sun | 47° in the evening sky. Look low in the west after sunset. |
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 2072
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 5 Jan | 18:13 | Wolf Moon | next |
| Thu 4 Feb | 04:56 | Snow Moon | |
| Fri 4 Mar | 15:18 | Worm Moon | |
| Sun 3 Apr | 01:25 | Pink Moon | |
| Mon 2 May | 11:34 | Flower Moon | |
| Wed 1 Jun | 22:18 | Blue Moon | |
| Thu 30 Jun | 10:22 | Strawberry Moon | |
| Sat 30 Jul | 00:17 | Buck Moon | |
| Sun 28 Aug | 16:00 | Sturgeon Moon | |
| Tue 27 Sep | 08:44 | Harvest Moon | |
| Thu 27 Oct | 01:22 | Hunter’s Moon | |
| Fri 25 Nov | 17:00 | Beaver Moon | |
| Sun 25 Dec | 07:16 | Cold Moon |
New moon dates 2072
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 20 Jan | 06:36 | next |
| Fri 19 Feb | 02:04 | |
| Sat 19 Mar | 20:22 | |
| Mon 18 Apr | 11:57 | |
| Wed 18 May | 00:19 | |
| Thu 16 Jun | 09:58 | |
| Fri 15 Jul | 17:56 | |
| Sun 14 Aug | 01:21 | |
| Mon 12 Sep | 09:07 | |
| Tue 11 Oct | 17:56 | |
| Thu 10 Nov | 04:22 | |
| Fri 9 Dec | 17:00 |
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 2072
No eclipse data for 2072.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2072?
The full moon is on 25 December 2072. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2072?
The new moon is on 9 December 2072. 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.