December 2012

1. Sun
2. Mon
3. Tue
4. Wed
5. Thu
6. Fri
7. Sat
14. 1 92%
15. 2 86%
16. 3 78%
17. 4 69%
18. 5 60%
19. 6 Last qtr
20. 7 39%
21. 8 28%
22. 9 19%
23. 10 10%
24. 11 4%
25. 12 1%
26. 13 New
27. 14 3%
28. 15 8%
29. 16 16%
30. 17 25%
31. 18 35%
32. 19 45%
33. 20 First qtr
34. 21 65%
35. 22 74%
36. 23 81%
37. 24 88%
38. 25 94%
39. 26 97%
40. 27 99%
41. 28 Full
42. 29 98%
43. 30 95%
44. 31 90%

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

Events in December 2012

1. Sun, Dec 28:34 PM

   Jupiter at opposition

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

2. Tue, Dec 45:48 PM

   Mercury at greatest elongation

   21° from the Sun in the morning sky, its best showing before sunrise.

3. Thu, Dec 610:32 AM

   Last Quarter

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

4. Mon, Dec 105:21 AM

   Moon and Saturn close together

   They pass 3.9° apart in the sky.

5. Tue, Dec 118:08 AM

   Moon and Venus close together

   They pass 1.6° apart in the sky.

6. Tue, Dec 118:34 AM

   Mercury, Moon, and Venus gathered

   All within 6.4° of each other in the sky.

7. Tue, Dec 117:21 PM

   Moon and Mercury close together

   They pass 1.1° apart in the sky.

8. Wed, Dec 12

   Perigee

   The Moon's closest point to Earth on this orbit: 357,100 km.

9. Thu, Dec 133:42 AM

   New Moon

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

10. Thu, Dec 2012:19 AM

    First Quarter

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

11. Thu, Dec 2011:34 AM

    Moon and Uranus close together

    They pass 4.8° apart in the sky.

12. Fri, Dec 216:11 AM

    December solstice

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

13. Tue, Dec 25

    Apogee

    The Moon's farthest point from Earth on this orbit: 406,100 km.

14. Tue, Dec 257:17 PM

    Moon and Jupiter close together

    They pass 0.4° apart in the sky.

15. Fri, Dec 285:21 AM

    Full Moon Cold Moon

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

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