Waning Gibbous
96%
- Rise
- 9:38 PM
- Set
- 7:18 AM
Moon Phases December 2031 in Sydney, New South Wales
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daily moon phases, illumination, moonrise and moonset for Sydney, in local time (Australia/Sydney). Next full moon: Cold Moon on Monday, December 29.
Sydney · Monday, December 1, 2031 Today
Waning Gibbous
- Illumination
- 95.8%
- Moon age
- 16.2 days
- Distance
- 401,367 km
- Moonrise
- 9:38 PM
- Moonset
- 7:18 AM
- Highest
- 2:04 AM
at . Next: Last Quarter on Sun, Dec 7 at 2:19 PM. Cold Moon in 28 days.
After full moon the lit portion begins to shrink from the side it first grew on, and the Moon is waning gibbous.
Click any day in the calendar or pick a date above to see its details here.
December 2031 calendar
Waning Gibbous
91%
- Rise
- 10:20 PM
- Set
- 8:11 AM
Waning Gibbous
85%
- Rise
- 10:58 PM
- Set
- 9:04 AM
Waning Gibbous
78%
- Rise
- 11:33 PM
- Set
- 9:58 AM
Waning Gibbous
70%
- Rise
- —
- Set
- 10:52 AM
Waning Gibbous
61%
- Rise
- 12:05 AM
- Set
- 11:46 AM
Last Quarter
- Rise
- 12:36 AM
- Set
- 12:40 PM
Waning Crescent
41%
- Rise
- 1:07 AM
- Set
- 1:35 PM
Waning Crescent
32%
- Rise
- 1:39 AM
- Set
- 2:33 PM
Waning Crescent
22%
- Rise
- 2:13 AM
- Set
- 3:32 PM
Waning Crescent
14%
- Rise
- 2:50 AM
- Set
- 4:34 PM
Waning Crescent
7%
- Rise
- 3:33 AM
- Set
- 5:38 PM
Waning Crescent
3%
- Rise
- 4:21 AM
- Set
- 6:43 PM
New Moon
- Rise
- 5:17 AM
- Set
- 7:46 PM
Waxing Crescent
1%
- Rise
- 6:19 AM
- Set
- 8:44 PM
Waxing Crescent
4%
- Rise
- 7:26 AM
- Set
- 9:37 PM
Waxing Crescent
10%
- Rise
- 8:36 AM
- Set
- 10:25 PM
Waxing Crescent
19%
- Rise
- 9:45 AM
- Set
- 11:07 PM
Waxing Crescent
29%
- Rise
- 10:52 AM
- Set
- 11:46 PM
Waxing Crescent
39%
- Rise
- 11:58 AM
- Set
- —
First Quarter
- Rise
- 1:01 PM
- Set
- 12:22 AM
Waxing Gibbous
61%
- Rise
- 2:03 PM
- Set
- 12:58 AM
Waxing Gibbous
71%
- Rise
- 3:04 PM
- Set
- 1:34 AM
Waxing Gibbous
80%
- Rise
- 4:03 PM
- Set
- 2:12 AM
Waxing Gibbous
88%
- Rise
- 5:00 PM
- Set
- 2:52 AM
Waxing Gibbous
93%
- Rise
- 5:55 PM
- Set
- 3:35 AM
Waxing Gibbous
97%
- Rise
- 6:47 PM
- Set
- 4:22 AM
Waxing Gibbous
99%
- Rise
- 7:34 PM
- Set
- 5:11 AM
Cold Moon
- Rise
- 8:18 PM
- Set
- 6:03 AM
Waning Gibbous
98%
- Rise
- 8:57 PM
- Set
- 6:57 AM
Waning Gibbous
95%
- Rise
- 9:33 PM
- Set
- 7:51 AM
Times are local to Sydney (Australia/Sydney). A dash means the moon does not rise or set on that date.
Moon phases in December 2031
| Phase | Local date and time | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| Last Quarter | Sun, Dec 7 at 2:19 PM | Dec 7, 03:19 |
| New Moon | Sun, Dec 14 at 8:05 PM | Dec 14, 09:05 |
| First Quarter | Sun, Dec 21 at 11:00 AM | Dec 21, 00:00 |
| Full Moon · Cold Moon | Mon, Dec 29 at 4:33 AM | Dec 28, 17:33 |
About the Waning Gibbous
After full moon the lit portion begins to shrink from the side it first grew on, and the Moon is waning gibbous. It rises after sunset, later each night, and is still up after sunrise, which is why this is the phase most often noticed in the western sky in the morning.
By the end of this phase the Moon rises around midnight and is well placed for anyone awake in the small hours.
Lore and folklore
The waning moon was traditionally the time for finishing and clearing: harvesting, weeding, pruning and any work meant to reduce or remove. Almanacs advised planting root crops and perennials in the third quarter, when energy was thought to move down into the roots.
Folk remedies were said to work best on a waning moon, drawing ailments away as the light shrank.
Trivia
- The lit edge now faces east, toward the morning Sun, so the horns of the shrinking moon point west.
- The waning gibbous rises about 50 minutes later each night on average, the same lag that shifts the tides.
- Photographers like this phase for lunar detail in the comfortable pre-dawn sky.
- The far side of the Moon is never permanently dark; it has its own day and night like the near side.
Select any day in the calendar to read about its phase.
This month's full moon: the Cold Moon
The December full moon, when winter cold takes hold and nights are longest.
The Long Night Moon, for the night nearest the winter solstice, and the Moon before Yule are older names. It is the highest-riding full moon of the year in the northern hemisphere, opposite the low December sun.
Lore
December's moon comes with the deepest cold and the longest nights, hence the Cold Moon and Long Night Moon. In Anglo-Saxon tradition it was the Moon before Yule, and its light on snow made the long nights unusually bright.
Trivia
- The Cold Moon rides highest of all full moons in the northern hemisphere, opposite the low solstice Sun.
- Around the December solstice the full moon is above the horizon for more than 15 hours at 50 degrees north.
- The Cold Moon is usually the last full moon of the year, but some years a thirteenth follows it as a Blue Moon.
Gardening by the Moon in December 2031
- Dec 1 to Dec 6 · Root crops: Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth.
- Dec 7 to Dec 13 · Rest and tend: Rest days for the soil: weed, cultivate, turn compost, harvest crops for storage, prune to discourage regrowth, prepare beds. Avoid sowing.
- Dec 14 to Dec 20 · Leafy crops: Sow leafy crops and above-ground annuals whose seeds form outside the fruit: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, celery, herbs. Transplant seedlings. Mow to encourage growth.
- Dec 21 to Dec 28 · Fruiting crops: Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns.
- Dec 29 to Dec 31 · Root crops: Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth.
Full planting calendar for December › · How gardening by the moon works
How to read this moon calendar
Each day shows the Moon as it looks from Sydney at midday local time, with the illuminated percentage, moonrise and moonset. Days with a principal phase show the exact local time the phase occurs. Because the Moon moves about 50 minutes later each day, roughly once a month there is a date with no moonrise or no moonset at all.
From the southern hemisphere the Moon appears flipped: a waxing moon is lit on the left. The icons on this page follow that view.
The eight phases of the Moon
New Moon
The Moon sits between Earth and the Sun. Its lit side faces away from us, so it is invisible in the night sky. A new lunar month begins.
Waxing Crescent
A thin sliver grows each evening after sunset. Look low in the west shortly after dusk.
First Quarter
Half the disc is lit. The Moon rises around midday and sets around midnight, so it is high in the sky at sunset.
Waxing Gibbous
More than half lit and growing. It rises in the afternoon and shines most of the night.
Full Moon
The whole face is lit. It rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Each full moon carries a traditional name.
Waning Gibbous
The lit portion shrinks. It rises after sunset and is still up in the morning sky.
Last Quarter
Half lit again, on the opposite side. It rises around midnight and is best seen in the early morning.
Waning Crescent
A thinning sliver before dawn in the east, fading toward the next new moon.