December 2002

1. Sun
2. Mon
3. Tue
4. Wed
5. Thu
6. Fri
7. Sat
8. 1 10%
9. 2 4%
10. 3 1%
11. 4 New
12. 5 3%
13. 6 7%
14. 7 14%
15. 8 22%
16. 9 31%
17. 10 41%
18. 11 First qtr
19. 12 60%
20. 13 69%
21. 14 77%
22. 15 85%
23. 16 91%
24. 17 96%
25. 18 99%
26. 19 Full
27. 20 99%
28. 21 96%
29. 22 91%
30. 23 84%
31. 24 75%
32. 25 65%
33. 26 Last qtr
34. 27 42%
35. 28 31%
36. 29 21%
37. 30 12%
38. 31 6%

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

Events in December 2002

1. Sun, Dec 16:07 AM

   Moon and Mars close together

   They pass 2.4° apart in the sky.

2. Sun, Dec 17:16 AM

   Mars, Moon, and Venus gathered

   All within 2.5° of each other in the sky.

3. Sun, Dec 19:38 AM

   Moon and Venus close together

   They pass 1.9° apart in the sky.

4. Mon, Dec 2

   Perigee

   The Moon's closest point to Earth on this orbit: 362,300 km.

5. Wed, Dec 412:49 AM

   Venus at its brightest

   Shines at magnitude -4.9, as bright as it gets this time around.

6. Wed, Dec 42:31 AM

   Total solar eclipse

   The Moon covers the Sun completely along a narrow track across Earth.

7. Wed, Dec 42:34 AM

   New Moon

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

8. Wed, Dec 411:10 PM

   Moon and Mercury close together

   They pass 0.6° apart in the sky.

9. Sun, Dec 85:00 AM

   Moon and Neptune close together

   They pass 4.6° apart in the sky.

10. Mon, Dec 912:01 PM

    Moon and Uranus close together

    They pass 4.4° apart in the sky.

11. Wed, Dec 1110:49 AM

    First Quarter

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

12. Fri, Dec 13

    Apogee

    The Moon's farthest point from Earth on this orbit: 404,900 km.

13. Tue, Dec 1712:17 PM

    Saturn at opposition

    Opposite the Sun in the sky: up all night and at its brightest for the year.

14. Thu, Dec 199:52 AM

    Moon and Saturn close together

    They pass 2.8° apart in the sky.

15. Thu, Dec 192:10 PM

    Full Moon Cold Moon

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

16. Sat, Dec 218:14 PM

    December solstice

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

17. Mon, Dec 239:06 AM

    Moon and Jupiter close together

    They pass 4.1° apart in the sky.

18. Thu, Dec 2612:32 AM

    Mercury at greatest elongation

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

19. Thu, Dec 267:31 PM

    Last Quarter

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

20. Sun, Dec 297:14 PM

    Mars, Moon, and Venus gathered

    All within 4.5° of each other in the sky.

21. Sun, Dec 29

    Perigee

    The Moon's closest point to Earth on this orbit: 367,900 km.

22. Sun, Dec 298:26 PM

    Moon and Mars close together

    They pass 1.1° apart in the sky.

23. Mon, Dec 302:48 AM

    Moon and Venus close together

    They pass 2.1° apart in the sky.

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