The Moon in December 2026
In December 2026 the Moon goes through five main phases: last quarter on December 1, new moon on December 8, first quarter on December 17, full moon on December 23 and last quarter on December 30. The full moon, traditionally called the Cold Moon, comes on Wednesday, December 23 at 8:28 PM ET (1:28 AM UTC). The new moon falls on Tuesday, December 8 at 7:52 PM ET.
On December 1 the Moon is a last quarter, 51% lit. By December 31 it is a waning crescent, 36% lit. All times on this page are Eastern Time (New York), rounded to the minute, with UTC alongside. The live tool at the top uses your own time zone.
| Phase | Date | Time (ET) | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last quarter | Tuesday, December 1 | 1:09 AM | Dec 1, 6:09 AM |
| New moon | Tuesday, December 8 | 7:52 PM | Dec 9, 12:52 AM |
| First quarter | Thursday, December 17 | 12:43 AM | Dec 17, 5:43 AM |
| Full moon | Wednesday, December 23 | 8:28 PM | Dec 24, 1:28 AM |
| Last quarter | Wednesday, December 30 | 2:00 PM | Dec 30, 7:00 PM |
December 2026 moon calendar, day by day
Phase and lit share at noon in New York, the Moon’s direction in the sky, then moonrise and moonset in New York. “None” means the Moon does not rise (or set) that calendar day.
| Day | Phase | Lit | Moon | Rise | Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Dec 1 | Last quarter | 45% | Descending | none | 12:30 PM |
| Wed, Dec 2 | Waning Crescent | 35% | Descending | 12:36 AM | 12:53 PM |
| Thu, Dec 3 | Waning Crescent | 25% | Descending | 1:43 AM | 1:15 PM |
| Fri, Dec 4 | Waning Crescent | 17% | Descending | 2:48 AM | 1:38 PM |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Waning Crescent | 10% | Descending | 3:53 AM | 2:04 PM |
| Sun, Dec 6 | Waning Crescent | 5% | Descending | 4:58 AM | 2:34 PM |
| Mon, Dec 7 | Waning Crescent | 2% | Descending | 6:02 AM | 3:10 PM |
| Tue, Dec 8 | New moon | 0% | Descending | 7:03 AM | 3:52 PM |
| Wed, Dec 9 | Waxing Crescent | 1% | Ascending | 7:59 AM | 4:42 PM |
| Thu, Dec 10 | Waxing Crescent | 3% | Ascending | 8:47 AM | 5:38 PM |
| Fri, Dec 11 | Waxing Crescent | 6% | Ascending | 9:28 AM | 6:38 PM |
| Sat, Dec 12 | Waxing Crescent | 12% | Ascending | 10:02 AM | 7:40 PM |
| Sun, Dec 13 | Waxing Crescent | 18% | Ascending | 10:30 AM | 8:43 PM |
| Mon, Dec 14 | Waxing Crescent | 26% | Ascending | 10:55 AM | 9:45 PM |
| Tue, Dec 15 | Waxing Crescent | 35% | Ascending | 11:17 AM | 10:47 PM |
| Wed, Dec 16 | Waxing Crescent | 45% | Ascending | 11:38 AM | 11:50 PM |
| Thu, Dec 17 | First quarter | 55% | Ascending | 11:59 AM | none |
| Fri, Dec 18 | Waxing Gibbous | 65% | Ascending | 12:22 PM | 12:56 AM |
| Sat, Dec 19 | Waxing Gibbous | 75% | Ascending | 12:48 PM | 2:04 AM |
| Sun, Dec 20 | Waxing Gibbous | 84% | Ascending | 1:20 PM | 3:18 AM |
| Mon, Dec 21 | Waxing Gibbous | 92% | Ascending | 2:00 PM | 4:35 AM |
| Tue, Dec 22 | Waxing Gibbous | 97% | Ascending | 2:52 PM | 5:53 AM |
| Wed, Dec 23 | Full moon | 100% | Descending | 3:58 PM | 7:05 AM |
| Thu, Dec 24 | Waning Gibbous | 99% | Descending | 5:15 PM | 8:07 AM |
| Fri, Dec 25 | Waning Gibbous | 96% | Descending | 6:36 PM | 8:57 AM |
| Sat, Dec 26 | Waning Gibbous | 90% | Descending | 7:56 PM | 9:35 AM |
| Sun, Dec 27 | Waning Gibbous | 82% | Descending | 9:13 PM | 10:06 AM |
| Mon, Dec 28 | Waning Gibbous | 72% | Descending | 10:25 PM | 10:33 AM |
| Tue, Dec 29 | Waning Gibbous | 62% | Descending | 11:33 PM | 10:56 AM |
| Wed, Dec 30 | Last quarter | 51% | Descending | none | 11:19 AM |
| Thu, Dec 31 | Waning Crescent | 41% | Descending | 12:40 AM | 11:42 AM |
Distance and height in the sky
The Moon is closest to Earth (perigee) on December 24, at 356,651 km. It is farthest (apogee) on December 11, at 406,417 km.
The month starts with a descending Moon. It reaches its lowest path on December 9 (27.6° south) and starts to ascend again. It reaches its highest path on December 23 (declination 27.6° north) and then descends. A high declination means the Moon rides high in the sky and stays up longer, as seen from the United States.
Supermoon on December 23
The full moon of December 23 happens 356,740 km from Earth, close to perigee. It ranks number 1 among the 2026 full moons by distance. It looks slightly bigger and brighter than an average full moon, though the difference is hard to see without a side by side photo.
Why it is called the Cold Moon
The name comes from the almanac tradition of the northeastern United States: it comes with the long, cold nights near the winter solstice. These names were popularized in the 1930s by the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, which presented them as Native American names.
Next: the following month. Before: the previous month. See all the full moons of 2026, or sunrise and sunset times for any city.