The Moon on this date
Moon on Thursday, December 21, 2073
Last Quarter
53.5% illuminated · waning
Shown at midday from Columbus, US.
Rise, set and path
Times for Columbus, US
- Moonrise
- –
- Highest
- 55°
- Moonset
- W
60°30°
Horizon
12:37 PM
55°
Key figures
- Illuminated
- 53.5%
- Age
- 22.5 days
- Distance
- 373,400 km
- Apparent size
- 32.0′
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Lunation number
- 1867
Events on this date
-
December solstice
The shortest day in the northern hemisphere and the longest in the southern.
-
Mercury, Uranus, and Venus gathered
All within 5.7° of each other in the sky.
-
Last Quarter
Half of the disc is lit. The Moon rises around midnight and is up through the morning.
-
Mercury and Uranus close together
They pass 1.6° apart in the sky.
-
Venus behind the Sun
On the far side of the Sun and lost in its glare.
Exact values
For Dec 21, 12:00 PM, midday on this date.
| Elongation from the Sun | 266.18° |
|---|---|
| Phase angle | 86.04° |
| Illuminated fraction | 53.45% |
| Altitude / azimuth | 6.3° / 270.1° |
| Right ascension / declination | 11h 53m / 4.63° |
| Ecliptic longitude / latitude | 176.61° / 3.58° |
| Libration in longitude / latitude | -4.85° / -3.71° |
| Sub-solar longitude / latitude | -90.37° / 1.05° |
| Position angle of the axis | 24.6° |
| Position angle of the bright limb | 113.2° |
| Apparent magnitude | -10.4 |
Directions are good to about a hundredth of a degree and the distance to about 50 km; more digits would not mean anything.