January 2012
- First quarterSun 1 Jan, 06:15
- Full moonMon 9 Jan, 07:30
- Last quarterMon 16 Jan, 09:08
- New moonMon 23 Jan, 07:39
- First quarterTue 31 Jan, 04:10
Lunar calendar
Moon phases 2012
The lunar calendar for 2012: 12 new moons and 13 full moons, month by month, with a calendar of the Moon’s phase on each day that you can print.
Moon phases 2012 · times in UTC
February 2012
- Full moonTue 7 Feb, 21:54
- Last quarterTue 14 Feb, 17:04
- New moonTue 21 Feb, 22:35
March 2012
- First quarterThu 1 Mar, 01:22
- Full moonThu 8 Mar, 09:39
- Last quarterThu 15 Mar, 01:25
- New moonThu 22 Mar, 14:37
- First quarterFri 30 Mar, 19:41
April 2012
- Full moonFri 6 Apr, 19:19
- Last quarterFri 13 Apr, 10:50
- New moonSat 21 Apr, 07:18
- First quarterSun 29 Apr, 09:58
May 2012
- Full moonSun 6 May, 03:35
- Last quarterSat 12 May, 21:47
- New moonSun 20 May, 23:47
- First quarterMon 28 May, 20:16
June 2012
- Full moonMon 4 Jun, 11:12
- Last quarterMon 11 Jun, 10:41
- New moonTue 19 Jun, 15:02
- First quarterWed 27 Jun, 03:30
July 2012
- Full moonTue 3 Jul, 18:52
- Last quarterWed 11 Jul, 01:48
- New moonThu 19 Jul, 04:24
- First quarterThu 26 Jul, 08:56
August 2012
- Full moonThu 2 Aug, 03:27
- Last quarterThu 9 Aug, 18:55
- New moonFri 17 Aug, 15:54
- First quarterFri 24 Aug, 13:53
- Full moonFri 31 Aug, 13:58
September 2012
- Last quarterSat 8 Sept, 13:15
- New moonSun 16 Sept, 02:11
- First quarterSat 22 Sept, 19:41
- Full moonSun 30 Sept, 03:19
October 2012
- Last quarterMon 8 Oct, 07:33
- New moonMon 15 Oct, 12:02
- First quarterMon 22 Oct, 03:32
- Full moonMon 29 Oct, 19:49
November 2012
- Last quarterWed 7 Nov, 00:36
- New moonTue 13 Nov, 22:08
- First quarterTue 20 Nov, 14:31
- Full moonWed 28 Nov, 14:46
December 2012
- Last quarterThu 6 Dec, 15:31
- New moonThu 13 Dec, 08:42
- First quarterThu 20 Dec, 05:19
- Full moonFri 28 Dec, 10:21
Where you are
Moonrise and moonset in your city
The phase is the same everywhere; moonrise and moonset are not. Open the sun and moon page of your city for today’s times and a month of phases.
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- Type a city, a country or a zone such as “CET” or “Tokyo”.
How it works
The four principal phases
The Moon passes through four principal phases in about 29.5 days: new moon (Moon between Earth and Sun, unlit side towards us), first quarter (half the disc lit, on the right seen from the northern hemisphere), full moon (the whole disc lit) and last quarter (half lit, on the left). The days in between are crescent and gibbous, waxing before full moon and waning after it.
A lunar cycle lasts 29.53 days on average, but individual cycles range from about 29.3 to 29.8 days, so a year holds 12 or 13 of each principal phase, and the days between the four phases are not always the same.
Dates depend on the time zone
Each principal phase is one instant, the same everywhere. The calendar date of that instant depends on the time zone: a new moon at 23:30 UTC is already the next day in Asia and Australia. Use the switch above the calendar to read the dates in UTC or in your own zone; the grids and the lists change together.
The phase drawn for an ordinary day is the Moon at noon, so it is the same for everyone in that time zone. Illuminated percentages are the true lit fraction of the disc.
How we compute it
The principal phases are from Jean Meeus’s Astronomical Algorithms (chapter 49) and agree with the US Naval Observatory’s tables to the minute (checked for 2026 and 2027). The illuminated fraction comes from the Moon’s and Sun’s true positions. The calculation assumes a constant difference between Earth time and UTC and is good for 2000–2050.
Questions
Good to know
What are the moon phases in 2012?
There are 12 new moons, 13 first quarters, 13 full moons and 12 last quarters in 2012. The first new moon is on Monday, 23 January 2012, the first full moon on Monday, 9 January 2012 (dates in UTC).
How long is the lunar cycle?
The Moon takes 29.53 days on average to go from one new moon to the next, and individual cycles range from about 29.3 to 29.8 days.
Why does the date of a moon phase differ from another calendar?
A principal phase is a single instant, and the date depends on the time zone. Switch the calendar to your own time zone to read the phases in local time.
Can I print the moon phase calendar?
Yes. Use “Print this calendar”: the page prints on white paper in light ink, six months to a page, with the principal phases marked.
Is the Moon’s phase the same everywhere?
Yes, the same fraction of the disc is lit at the same moment everywhere on Earth. Only the date, and how the Moon looks (upside down in the south), differ.