The following table gives the date and time of important astronomical events for December 2015. The time of each event is given in Greenwich Mean Time or GMT (a.k.a. Universal Time or UT). To convert GMT to Eastern Standard Time (EST) just subtract 5 hours. To convert GMT to other time zones, visit Time Zones. Some of the astronomical terms used in the calendar are explained in Definitions.
Date GMT Astronomical Events for December 2015 ------ ----- -------------------------------------------- (h:m) Dec 02 11:53 Regulus 3.0°N of Moon Dec 03 07:40 LAST QUARTER MOON Dec 04 06:21 Jupiter 1.8°N of Moon Dec 04 18:33 Moon at Ascending Node Dec 05 14:56 Moon at Apogee: 404800 km Dec 06 02:40 Mars 0.1°N of Moon: Occultation Dec 06 19:42 Spica 4.4°S of Moon Dec 07 16:55 Venus 0.7°S of Moon: Occultation Dec 11 10:29 NEW MOON Dec 14 18 Geminid Meteor Shower Dec 18 06:01 Saturn 6.1°N of Antares Dec 18 15:13 Moon at Descending Node Dec 18 15:14 FIRST QUARTER MOON Dec 21 08:53 Moon at Perigee: 368418 km Dec 22 04:48 Winter Solstice Dec 23 02 Ursid Meteor Shower Dec 23 14:18 Mars 3.3°N of Spica Dec 23 19:09 Aldebaran 0.7°S of Moon Dec 25 11:11 FULL MOON Dec 29 03 Mercury at Greatest Elongation: 19.7°E Dec 29 20:30 Regulus 2.7°N of Moon Dec 31 17:55 Jupiter 1.5°N of Moon Dec 31 20:19 Moon at Ascending Node
As the events above transpire, I will post photographs of some of them at Recent Images.
Astronomical events calendars for complete years and for eight time zones are available through the links below.
Time Zones | Calendars of Astronomical Events | |||||
Greenwich Mean Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Atlantic Standard Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Eastern Standard Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Central Standard Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Mountain Standard Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Pacific Standard Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Alaska Standard Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Hawaii Standard Time | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
For additional years, see Calendars of Astronomical Events.
For detailed information on solar and lunar eclipses this year, see: Eclipses During 2015.
The Calendars of Astronomical Events were all generated by a computer program I wrote (with THINK Pascal running on a Macintosh G4) using Astronomical Algorithms (Jean Meeus).
- More Information
- Sky Events Calendar (AstroPixels.com)
- This Week’s Sky at a Glance (Sky & Telescope)
- Heavens Above
- Cal Sky
- Star Date
- Eclipses During 2015 (EclipseWise.com)
- Additional Astronomical Events
- Solstices and Equinoxes: 2001 to 2100 (GMT)
- Perihelion and Aphelion: 2001 to 2100 (GMT)
- Phases of the Moon: 2001 to 2100 (Greenwich Mean Time)
- Full Moon at Perigee (Super Moon): 2001 to 2100 (GMT)
- More Astronomical Data (AstroPixels.com)
- Solar and Lunar Eclipses (EclipseWise.com)