December 2003

1. Sun
2. Mon
3. Tue
4. Wed
5. Thu
6. Fri
7. Sat
9. 1 60%
10. 2 70%
11. 3 78%
12. 4 85%
13. 5 91%
14. 6 96%
15. 7 99%
16. 8 Full
17. 9 99%
18. 10 97%
19. 11 93%
20. 12 87%
21. 13 79%
22. 14 71%
23. 15 61%
24. 16 Last qtr
25. 17 40%
26. 18 29%
27. 19 19%
28. 20 11%
29. 21 4%
30. 22 1%
31. 23 New
32. 24 3%
33. 25 8%
34. 26 15%
35. 27 24%
36. 28 33%
37. 29 43%
38. 30 First qtr
39. 31 63%

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

Events in December 2003

1. Mon, Dec 11:59 PM

   Moon and Mars close together

   They pass 3.7° apart in the sky.

2. Sun, Dec 7

   Apogee

   The Moon's farthest point from Earth on this orbit: 406,300 km.

3. Mon, Dec 83:37 PM

   Full Moon Cold MoonMicromoon

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

4. Tue, Dec 91:14 AM

   Mercury at greatest elongation

   21° from the Sun in the evening sky, its best showing after sunset.

5. Wed, Dec 106:00 PM

   Moon and Saturn close together

   They pass 4.8° apart in the sky.

6. Tue, Dec 161:54 AM

   Moon and Jupiter close together

   They pass 3.4° apart in the sky.

7. Tue, Dec 1612:42 PM

   Last Quarter

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

8. Mon, Dec 222:03 AM

   December solstice

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

9. Mon, Dec 22

   Perigee

   The Moon's closest point to Earth on this orbit: 358,300 km.

10. Tue, Dec 234:43 AM

    New Moon

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

11. Thu, Dec 2512:17 PM

    Moon and Venus close together

    They pass 3.2° apart in the sky.

12. Thu, Dec 259:09 PM

    Moon, Neptune, and Venus gathered

    All within 5.8° of each other in the sky.

13. Fri, Dec 268:05 PM

    Mercury at inferior conjunction

    Passes between Earth and the Sun and is lost in its glare.

14. Sat, Dec 275:57 AM

    Moon and Uranus close together

    They pass 4.3° apart in the sky.

15. Tue, Dec 304:54 AM

    Moon and Mars close together

    They pass 3.4° apart in the sky.

16. Tue, Dec 305:04 AM

    First Quarter

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

17. Tue, Dec 3012:22 PM

    Venus and Neptune close together

    They pass 1.8° apart in the sky.

18. Wed, Dec 313:44 PM

    Saturn at opposition

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

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