- 3 Dec, 16:04 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- 11 Dec, 17:08 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 18 Dec, 09:20 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 25 Dec, 07:07 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- During December 2074 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 2 January 2075 (January 2075).
Moon phase times, December 2074
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 3 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 16:04 | 14:04 |
| Tue 11 Dec | Last quarter | 17:08 | 15:08 |
| Tue 18 Dec | New moon | 09:20 | 07:20 |
| Tue 25 Dec | First quarter | 07:07 | 05:07 |
The sky: December 2074
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Tue 11 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 2.9° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Thu 13 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 27% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sat 15 Dec | The Moon near Venus | About 2.3° apart. Look for Venus next to the Moon. |
| Wed 19 Dec | The Moon near Mercury | About 3.2° apart, but Mercury is not visible that night. |
| Wed 19 Dec | The Moon near Mars | About 1.8° apart, but Mars is not visible that night. |
| Thu 20 Dec | Venus farthest from the Sun | 47° in the morning sky. Look low in the east before sunrise. |
| Fri 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 20% lit and will not interfere. |
| Sun 23 Dec | Mercury and Mars together | 1.1° apart, but not in a dark sky. |
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 2074
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 13 Jan | 06:32 | Wolf Moon | next |
| Sun 11 Feb | 21:06 | Snow Moon | |
| Tue 13 Mar | 09:02 | Worm Moon | |
| Wed 11 Apr | 18:31 | Pink Moon | |
| Fri 11 May | 02:18 | Flower Moon | |
| Sat 9 Jun | 09:28 | Strawberry Moon | |
| Sun 8 Jul | 17:06 | Buck Moon | |
| Tue 7 Aug | 02:06 | Sturgeon Moon | |
| Wed 5 Sep | 13:14 | Harvest Moon | |
| Fri 5 Oct | 02:56 | Hunter’s Moon | |
| Sat 3 Nov | 19:22 | Beaver Moon | |
| Mon 3 Dec | 14:04 | Cold Moon |
New moon dates 2074
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 27 Jan | 06:38 | next |
| Mon 26 Feb | 22:01 | |
| Tue 27 Mar | 14:20 | |
| Thu 26 Apr | 06:48 | |
| Sat 26 May | 22:45 | |
| Sun 24 Jun | 13:39 | |
| Tue 24 Jul | 03:07 | |
| Wed 22 Aug | 15:00 | |
| Fri 21 Sep | 01:29 | |
| Sat 20 Oct | 11:12 | |
| Sun 18 Nov | 20:57 | |
| Tue 18 Dec | 07:20 |
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 2074
No eclipse data for 2074.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2074?
The full moon is on 3 December 2074. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2074?
The new moon is on 18 December 2074. 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.