Daily phases · UK local time

December 2026 Moon calendar for the UK

Check the Moon's daily phase and illumination throughout December 2026, together with exact new Moon, quarter and full Moon event times.

How the Moon changes during December 2026

At 12:00 local time on 1 December, the Moon is a last quarter at 47% illumination and is waning. By 31 December, it is a last quarter at 43% illumination and is waning.

This civil month contains 5 exact principal phase events. Daily values represent the Moon at local noon; event rows below retain their precise astronomical times.

This fixed calendar uses Europe/London. Choose another time zone for this month →

Monthly view

December 2026

Daily state at 12:00 in Europe/London

Moon phase calendar for December 2026; weeks begin on Monday
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	1Last Quarter47%Age 22.2 dSelected date	2Last Quarter37%Age 23.2 d	3Waning Crescent27%Age 24.2 d	4Waning Crescent19%Age 25.2 d	5Waning Crescent12%Age 26.2 d	6Waning Crescent6%Age 27.2 d
7New Moon2%Age 28.2 d	8New Moon0%Age 29.2 d	9New Moon0%Age 0.5 d	10New Moon2%Age 1.5 d	11Waxing Crescent5%Age 2.5 d	12Waxing Crescent10%Age 3.5 d	13Waxing Crescent17%Age 4.5 d
14Waxing Crescent24%Age 5.5 d	15First Quarter33%Age 6.5 d	16First Quarter43%Age 7.5 d	17First Quarter53%Age 8.5 d	18First Quarter63%Age 9.5 d	19Waxing Gibbous73%Age 10.5 d	20Waxing Gibbous82%Age 11.5 d
21Waxing Gibbous90%Age 12.5 d	22Full Moon96%Age 13.5 d	23Full Moon99%Age 14.5 d	24Full Moon100%Age 15.5 d	25Full Moon97%Age 16.5 d	26Waning Gibbous91%Age 17.5 d	27Waning Gibbous83%Age 18.5 d
28Waning Gibbous74%Age 19.5 d	29Last Quarter64%Age 20.5 d	30Last Quarter53%Age 21.5 d	31Last Quarter43%Age 22.5 d

Select any day to update the preview here. Today, your selection and exact phase events have separate markers.

Day-by-day detail · London horizon

Phase, illumination, lunar age, rise and set

Phase, illumination and age are calculated at 12:00 Europe/London. Moonrise and moonset use a central London observer; a dash means no matching horizon crossing occurs during that civil date.

Daily values at 12:00 UK local time; rise and set for London
Date	Phase	Illumination	Lunar age	Moonrise	Moonset
1	Last Quarter	47%	22.2 days	—	12:38
2	Last Quarter	37%	23.2 days	00:23	12:50
3	Waning Crescent	27%	24.2 days	01:40	13:03
4	Waning Crescent	19%	25.2 days	02:56	13:16
5	Waning Crescent	12%	26.2 days	04:12	13:31
6	Waning Crescent	6%	27.2 days	05:28	13:50
7	New Moon	2%	28.2 days	06:42	14:15
8	New Moon	0%	29.2 days	07:51	14:50
9	New Moon	0%	0.5 days	08:52	15:35
10	New Moon	2%	1.5 days	09:40	16:33
11	Waxing Crescent	5%	2.5 days	10:16	17:39
12	Waxing Crescent	10%	3.5 days	10:43	18:50
13	Waxing Crescent	17%	4.5 days	11:03	20:02
14	Waxing Crescent	24%	5.5 days	11:19	21:15
15	First Quarter	33%	6.5 days	11:32	22:27
16	First Quarter	43%	7.5 days	11:43	23:40
17	First Quarter	53%	8.5 days	11:55	—
18	First Quarter	63%	9.5 days	12:07	00:55
19	Waxing Gibbous	73%	10.5 days	12:22	02:14
20	Waxing Gibbous	82%	11.5 days	12:41	03:38
21	Waxing Gibbous	90%	12.5 days	13:08	05:07
22	Full Moon	96%	13.5 days	13:49	06:35
23	Full Moon	99%	14.5 days	14:48	07:55
24	Full Moon	100%	15.5 days	16:07	08:56
25	Full Moon	97%	16.5 days	17:39	09:39
26	Waning Gibbous	91%	17.5 days	19:13	10:07
27	Waning Gibbous	83%	18.5 days	20:42	10:28
28	Waning Gibbous	74%	19.5 days	22:07	10:44
29	Last Quarter	64%	20.5 days	23:27	10:57
30	Last Quarter	53%	21.5 days	—	11:09
31	Last Quarter	43%	22.5 days	00:45	11:22

The month's brightest nights

Full Moon in December 2026

Cold Moon

A plain seasonal name for the cold, long nights around the beginning of northern winter.

Exact instant: 24 December 2026 at 01:28 GMT
Brown lunation: 1286
Distance: 356,729 km · supermoon rule

Read the Cold Moon guide

How rise and set vary across the UK

On the date of the first full Moon, longitude and latitude shift the horizon times. These representative cities all use Europe/London civil time.

Moonrise and moonset on 2026-12-24, in each location's UK local time
Location	Moonrise	Moonset
London	16:07	08:56
Cardiff	16:21	09:09
Belfast	16:09	09:44
Edinburgh	15:45	09:45
Lerwick	14:44	10:30

Traditional lunar rhythm · practical UK season

Garden windows for this month

Quiet maintenance around the shortest days. Use local soil, weather and frost conditions to decide whether each task is timely in your garden.

9–16 12/2026

Sowing

Start small protected sowings only where dependable light and warmth are available.

17–23 12/2026

Planting

Continue bare-root planting during mild, workable spells.

24–30 12/2026

Harvesting

Gather winter brassicas, leeks and parsnips, and check stored produce.

1–8, 31 12/2026

Pruning

Prune apples and pears in settled weather and remove storm-damaged branches safely.

Use this monthly calendar

Calculation method