- 5 Dec, 06:59 Vilnius time: last quarter.
- 13 Dec, 02:53 Vilnius time: new moon.
- 21 Dec, 06:53 Vilnius time: first quarter.
- 28 Dec, 02:58 Vilnius time: full moon, traditionally the Cold Moon.
- During December 2088 the Moon passes through all eight phases. One full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
- The next full moon after this month is on 26 January 2089 (January 2089).
Moon phase times, December 2088
The four principal phases are moments, not whole days. Times are given in UTC and in Europe/Vilnius time.
| Date | Phase | Europe/Vilnius | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 5 Dec | Last quarter | 06:59 | 04:59 |
| Mon 13 Dec | New moon | 02:53 | 00:53 |
| Tue 21 Dec | First quarter | 06:53 | 04:53 |
| Tue 28 Dec | Full moon · Cold Moon | 02:58 | 00:58 |
The sky: December 2088
Planets and sky events this month, as seen in London. The Moon's phases are in the calendar above.
Planets visible (mid-month)
Events
| Thu 9 Dec | The Moon near Jupiter | About 0.2° apart. Look for Jupiter next to the Moon. |
| Sun 12 Dec | Geminids meteor shower peak | Up to 150 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 0% lit and will not interfere. |
| Fri 17 Dec | Mercury farthest from the Sun | 20° in the evening sky. Too low at this latitude this time, hard to see. |
| Tue 21 Dec | Ursids meteor shower peak | Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky. The Moon is 54% lit and will hide some fainter meteors. |
| Wed 22 Dec | Venus farthest from the Sun | 47° in the evening sky. Look low in the west after sunset. |
| Fri 24 Dec | The Moon near Saturn | About 0.1° apart. Look for Saturn next to the Moon. |
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 2088
| Date | Time (UTC) | Traditional name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 8 Jan | 09:39 | Wolf Moon | next |
| Fri 6 Feb | 21:34 | Snow Moon | |
| Sun 7 Mar | 10:37 | Worm Moon | |
| Tue 6 Apr | 01:01 | Pink Moon | |
| Wed 5 May | 16:26 | Flower Moon | |
| Fri 4 Jun | 08:10 | Strawberry Moon | |
| Sun 4 Jul | 23:23 | Buck Moon | |
| Mon 2 Aug | 13:41 | Sturgeon Moon | |
| Wed 1 Sep | 02:59 | Harvest Moon | |
| Thu 30 Sep | 15:26 | Blue Moon | |
| Sat 30 Oct | 03:11 | Hunter’s Moon | |
| Sun 28 Nov | 14:19 | Beaver Moon | |
| Tue 28 Dec | 00:58 | Cold Moon |
New moon dates 2088
| Date | Time (UTC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 23 Jan | 19:40 | next |
| Sun 22 Feb | 11:10 | |
| Tue 23 Mar | 00:01 | |
| Wed 21 Apr | 10:26 | |
| Thu 20 May | 18:50 | |
| Sat 19 Jun | 01:55 | |
| Sun 18 Jul | 08:40 | |
| Mon 16 Aug | 16:17 | |
| Wed 15 Sep | 01:59 | |
| Thu 14 Oct | 14:41 | |
| Sat 13 Nov | 06:33 | |
| Mon 13 Dec | 00:53 |
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 2088
No eclipse data for 2088.
The waning moon is traditionally a time for finishing
Questions people ask
When is the full moon in December 2088?
The full moon is on 28 December 2088. Its traditional name is the Cold Moon. The exact time is in the table on this page.
When is the new moon in December 2088?
The new moon is on 13 December 2088. 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.