December 1996

1. Sun
2. Mon
3. Tue
4. Wed
5. Thu
6. Fri
7. Sat
8. 1 64%
9. 2 55%
10. 3 Last qtr
11. 4 36%
12. 5 27%
13. 6 18%
14. 7 11%
15. 8 5%
16. 9 1%
17. 10 New
18. 11 2%
19. 12 6%
20. 13 12%
21. 14 21%
22. 15 31%
23. 16 42%
24. 17 First qtr
25. 18 64%
26. 19 74%
27. 20 83%
28. 21 90%
29. 22 95%
30. 23 99%
31. 24 Full
32. 25 99%
33. 26 97%
34. 27 92%
35. 28 87%
36. 29 80%
37. 30 72%
38. 31 63%

• Moon phase
• Perigee or apogee
• Eclipse
• Planets
• Equinox or solstice

Events in December 1996

1. Sun, Dec 1

   Apogee

   The Moon's farthest point from Earth on this orbit: 404,600 km.

2. Tue, Dec 312:06 AM

   Last Quarter

   Half of the disc is lit. The Moon rises around midnight and is up through the morning.

3. Tue, Dec 31:03 PM

   Moon and Mars close together

   They pass 3.7° apart in the sky.

4. Sun, Dec 89:17 AM

   Moon and Venus close together

   They pass 1.9° apart in the sky.

5. Tue, Dec 1011:56 AM

   New Moon

   The Moon passes between Earth and the Sun and cannot be seen. These are the darkest nights of the month.

6. Thu, Dec 127:35 PM

   Jupiter, Moon, and Neptune gathered

   All within 5.4° of each other in the sky.

7. Thu, Dec 12

   Perigee

   The Moon's closest point to Earth on this orbit: 364,200 km.

8. Fri, Dec 1312:59 AM

   Moon and Neptune close together

   They pass 4.2° apart in the sky.

9. Fri, Dec 135:20 AM

   Moon, Neptune, and Uranus gathered

   All within 6.2° of each other in the sky.

10. Sun, Dec 152:38 PM

    Mercury at greatest elongation

    20° from the Sun in the evening sky, its best showing after sunset.

11. Tue, Dec 174:31 AM

    First Quarter

    Half of the disc is lit. The Moon is high at sunset and sets around midnight.

12. Tue, Dec 171:18 PM

    Moon and Saturn close together

    They pass 2.7° apart in the sky.

13. Sat, Dec 219:06 AM

    December solstice

    The shortest day in the northern hemisphere and the longest in the southern.

14. Mon, Dec 231:24 PM

    Jupiter, Mercury, and Neptune gathered

    All within 7.3° of each other in the sky.

15. Tue, Dec 243:41 PM

    Full Moon Cold Moon

    The whole disc is lit. The Moon rises around sunset and stays up all night.

16. Sun, Dec 29

    Apogee

    The Moon's farthest point from Earth on this orbit: 405,500 km.

17. Tue, Dec 318:01 PM

    Moon and Mars close together

    They pass 2.9° apart in the sky.

Times are local to America/New York. Each Moon is drawn as it looks at midday.