2016Calendar of Astronomical Events
2016Phases of the Moon
Central Standard Time
The following table gives the date and time of the Moon's phases for the year. The times listed are for Central Standard Time(Greenwich Mean Time - 6 hours).If Daylight Saving Time is in effect, add one hour to the times listed.
| 2016 Phases of the Moon | |||
| Central Standard Time | |||
| New Moon | First Quarter | Full Moon | Last Quarter |
| - | - | - | Jan 1 23:30 |
| Jan 9 19:30 | Jan 16 17:26 | Jan 23 19:46 | Jan 31 21:28 |
| Feb 8 08:39 | Feb 15 01:46 | Feb 22 12:20 | Mar 1 17:11 |
| Mar 8 19:54 T | Mar 15 11:03 | Mar 23 06:01 n | Mar 31 09:17 |
| Apr 7 05:24 | Apr 13 21:59 | Apr 21 23:24 | Apr 29 21:29 |
| May 6 13:30 | May 13 11:02 | May 21 15:15 | May 29 06:12 |
| Jun 4 21:00 | Jun 12 02:10 | Jun 20 05:02 | Jun 27 12:19 |
| Jul 4 05:01 | Jul 11 18:52 | Jul 19 16:57 | Jul 26 17:00 |
| Aug 2 14:45 | Aug 10 12:21 | Aug 18 03:27 | Aug 24 21:41 |
| Sep 1 03:03 A | Sep 9 05:49 | Sep 16 13:05 n | Sep 23 03:56 |
| Sep 30 18:12 | Oct 8 22:33 | Oct 15 22:23 | Oct 22 13:14 |
| Oct 30 11:38 | Nov 7 13:51 | Nov 14 07:52 | Nov 21 02:33 |
| Nov 29 06:18 | Dec 7 03:03 | Dec 13 18:06 | Dec 20 19:56 |
| Dec 29 00:53 | - | - | - |
An eclipse of the Sun can only occur at New Moon (see: Solar Eclipses for Beginners), while an eclipse of the Moon can only occur at Full Moon (see: Lunar Eclipses for Beginners). In any calendar year there are a minimum of two solar and two lunar eclipses.
If an eclipse of the Sun or Moon takes place on a given date, it is noted by a character next to the date in the table above. Solar eclipses are indicated as: T=Total, A=Annular, H=Hybrid and P=Partial.Lunar eclipses are indicated as: t=Total, p=Partial, and n=Penumbral.
Phases of the Moon Photo Gallery is an image collection showing the Moon's phases over a complete synodic month.
2016Calendar of Astronomical Events
Central Standard Time
The following table gives the date and time of the important astronomical events for the year. The times listed are for Central Standard Time(Greenwich Mean Time - 6 hours).If Daylight Saving Time is in effect, add one hour to the times listed. A key to astronomical terms appears below the calendar.
| 2016Calendar of Astronomical Events | ||||||||
| Central Standard Time | ||||||||
| January - June | July - December | |||||||
Date CST Event (h:m)Jan 01 23:30 LAST QUARTER MOON 02 05:53 Moon at Apogee: 404279 km 02 17 Earth at Perihelion: 0.98330 AU 02 21:35 Spica 4.7°S of Moon 03 12:45 Mars 1.5°S of Moon 04 02 Quadrantid Meteor Shower 06 17:57 Venus 3.1°S of Moon 06 22:57 Saturn 3.3°S of Moon 07 05:34 Venus 6.3°N of Antares 08 12 Mercury at Perihelion 09 02 Venus 0.1°N of Saturn 09 19:30 NEW MOON 14 08 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 14 09:48 Moon at Descending Node 14 20:10 Moon at Perigee: 369619 km 16 17:26 FIRST QUARTER MOON 19 20:16 Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon 23 19:46 FULL MOON 25 23:10 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 27 17:58 Moon at Ascending Node 27 19:14 Jupiter 1.4°N of Moon 30 03:10 Moon at Apogee: 404553 km 30 05:35 Spica 5.0°S of Moon 31 21:28 LAST QUARTER MOON Feb 01 02:48 Mars 2.7°S of Moon 03 13:05 Saturn 3.5°S of Moon 06 01:32 Venus 4.3°S of Moon 06 10:47 Mercury 3.8°S of Moon 06 19 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 25.6°W 08 08:39 NEW MOON 10 14:46 Moon at Descending Node 10 20:42 Moon at Perigee: 364358 km 12 21 Mercury 4.0°N of Venus 15 01:46 FIRST QUARTER MOON 16 01:41 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 21 11 Mercury at Aphelion 22 06:48 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 22 12:20 FULL MOON 23 21:58 Jupiter 1.7°N of Moon 24 00:10 Moon at Ascending Node 26 13:05 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 26 21:28 Moon at Apogee: 405383 km 28 09 Neptune in Conjunction with Sun 29 12:16 Mars 3.6°S of MoonMar 01 17:11 LAST QUARTER MOON 02 00:53 Saturn 3.6°S of Moon 07 04:54 Venus 3.5°S of Moon 08 04 Jupiter at Opposition 08 19:54 NEW MOON 08 19:57 Total Solar Eclipse; mag=1.045 09 00:31 Moon at Descending Node 10 01:02 Moon at Perigee: 359509 km 14 07:44 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 15 11:03 FIRST QUARTER MOON 19 22:31 Vernal Equinox 20 08 Venus at Aphelion 20 13:05 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 21 21:57 Jupiter 2.1°N of Moon 22 06:59 Moon at Ascending Node 23 05:47 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.775 23 06:01 FULL MOON 23 14 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 24 19:50 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 25 08:16 Moon at Apogee: 406125 km 28 12:45 Mars 4.2°S of Moon 29 08:58 Saturn 3.5°S of Moon 31 09:17 LAST QUARTER MOON Apr 05 11 Mercury at Perihelion 05 11:27 Moon at Descending Node 06 02:30 Venus 0.7°S of Moon: Occn. 07 05:24 NEW MOON 07 11:36 Moon at Perigee: 357164 km 08 04:35 Mercury 5.2°N of Moon 09 15 Uranus in Conjunction with Sun 10 16:05 Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon 13 21:59 FIRST QUARTER MOON 16 18:46 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 17 22:42 Jupiter 2.2°N of Moon 18 08 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 19.9°E 18 12:04 Moon at Ascending Node 21 01:59 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 21 10:05 Moon at Apogee: 406352 km 21 23:24 FULL MOON 21 23 Lyrid Meteor Shower 24 22:13 Mars 4.9°S of Moon 25 13:28 Saturn 3.3°S of Moon 27 07:51 Mars 4.8°N of Antares 28 02:14 Mercury 3.0°S of Pleiades 29 21:29 LAST QUARTER MOON May 02 19:27 Moon at Descending Node 04 13 Eta-Aquarid Meteor Shower 05 22:14 Moon at Perigee: 357828 km 06 13:30 NEW MOON 08 02:21 Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon 09 09 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 13 11:02 FIRST QUARTER MOON 14 01:06 Regulus 2.3°N of Moon 15 03:30 Jupiter 2.0°N of Moon 15 14:39 Moon at Ascending Node 18 08:07 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 18 16:06 Moon at Apogee: 405934 km 21 15:15 FULL MOON 22 05 Mars at Opposition 22 15:59 Saturn 3.2°S of Moon 29 06:12 LAST QUARTER MOON 29 22:45 Moon at Descending Node Jun 03 00 Saturn at Opposition 03 03:47 Mercury 0.7°N of Moon: Occn. 03 04:55 Moon at Perigee: 361142 km 04 21:00 NEW MOON 05 03 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 24.2°W 06 16 Venus at Superior Conjunction 10 08:47 Regulus 2.0°N of Moon 11 13:35 Jupiter 1.5°N of Moon 11 16:20 Moon at Ascending Node 12 02:10 FIRST QUARTER MOON 13 04:06 Mercury 6.4°S of Pleiades 14 14:47 Spica 5.3°S of Moon 15 06:00 Moon at Apogee: 405022 km 18 18:40 Saturn 3.3°S of Moon 18 21:39 Mercury 3.7°N of Aldebaran 20 05:02 FULL MOON 20 16:35 Summer Solstice 25 23:28 Moon at Descending Node 27 12:19 LAST QUARTER MOON | Date CST Event (h:m)Jul 01 00:45 Moon at Perigee: 365983 km 01 21:58 Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon 02 10 Mercury at Perihelion 04 05:01 NEW MOON 04 10 Earth at Aphelion: 1.01675 AU 06 21 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 07 17:33 Regulus 1.8°N of Moon 08 19:41 Moon at Ascending Node 09 04:08 Jupiter 0.9°N of Moon: Occn. 10 17 Venus at Perihelion 11 18:52 FIRST QUARTER MOON 11 22:13 Spica 5.6°S of Moon 12 23:24 Moon at Apogee: 404272 km 15 23:11 Saturn 3.4°S of Moon 16 17 Mercury 0.5°N of Venus 19 16:57 FULL MOON 23 01:49 Moon at Descending Node 26 17:00 LAST QUARTER MOON 27 05:25 Moon at Perigee: 369659 km 27 15 Delta-Aquarid Meteor Shower 29 04:53 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 30 09:55 Mercury 0.3°N of RegulusAug 02 14:45 NEW MOON 04 00:19 Venus 2.9°N of Moon 04 16:12 Mercury 0.6°N of Moon: Occn. 05 01:48 Moon at Ascending Node 05 05:57 Venus 1.0°N of Regulus 05 21:28 Jupiter 0.2°N of Moon: Occn. 08 06:08 Spica 5.8°S of Moon 09 18:05 Moon at Apogee: 404266 km 10 12:21 FIRST QUARTER MOON 12 06:10 Saturn 3.7°S of Moon 12 06 Perseid Meteor Shower 15 10 Mercury at Aphelion 16 15 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 27.4°E 18 03:27 FULL MOON 19 08:14 Moon at Descending Node 20 00 Mercury 3.8°S of Jupiter 21 19:20 Moon at Perigee: 367047 km 23 23:09 Mars 1.8°N of Antares 24 19 Mars 4.3°S of Saturn 24 21:41 LAST QUARTER MOON 25 10:21 Aldebaran 0.2°S of Moon 27 16 Venus 0.1°N of Jupiter 28 14 Mercury 5.0°S of VenusSep 01 03:03 NEW MOON 01 03:07 Annular Solar Eclipse; mag=0.974 01 09:27 Moon at Ascending Node 02 09 Neptune at Opposition 03 04:33 Venus 1.1°S of Moon: Occn. 04 13:56 Spica 5.8°S of Moon 04 14:05 Saturn 5.9°N of Antares 06 12:44 Moon at Apogee: 405059 km 08 15:23 Saturn 3.8°S of Moon 09 05:49 FIRST QUARTER MOON 12 18 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 15 17:55 Moon at Descending Node 16 12:54 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.908 16 13:05 FULL MOON 18 09:15 Venus 2.2°N of Spica 18 11:00 Moon at Perigee: 361894 km 21 16:13 Aldebaran 0.2°S of Moon 22 08:21 Autumnal Equinox 23 03:56 LAST QUARTER MOON 26 00 Jupiter in Conjunction with Sun 27 16:32 Regulus 1.7°N of Moon 28 09 Mercury at Perihelion 28 13 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 17.9°W 28 16:06 Moon at Ascending Node 29 04:42 Mercury 0.7°N of Moon: Occn. 30 18:12 NEW MOON Oct 03 11:30 Venus 5.0°S of Moon 04 05:02 Moon at Apogee: 406100 km 06 02:04 Saturn 3.8°S of Moon 08 22:33 FIRST QUARTER MOON 11 04 Mercury 0.8°N of Jupiter 13 03:43 Moon at Descending Node 15 04 Uranus at Opposition 15 22:23 FULL MOON 16 17:36 Moon at Perigee: 357860 km 19 00:18 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 20 23 Orionid Meteor Shower 22 13:14 LAST QUARTER MOON 24 22:01 Regulus 1.6°N of Moon 25 19:44 Moon at Ascending Node 26 04:56 Venus 3.0°N of Antares 27 10 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 28 03:33 Jupiter 1.4°S of Moon 29 07 Mars at Perihelion: 1.38124 AU 29 20 Venus 3.0°S of Saturn 30 11:38 NEW MOON 31 13:29 Moon at Apogee: 406660 kmNov 02 13:38 Saturn 3.7°S of Moon 04 23 S Taurid Meteor Shower 06 06:07 Mars 5.3°S of Moon 07 13:51 FIRST QUARTER MOON 09 09:57 Moon at Descending Node 11 22 N Taurid Meteor Shower 14 05:23 Moon at Perigee: 356512 km 14 07:52 FULL MOON 15 10:50 Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon 17 05 Leonid Meteor Shower 19 11:51 Beehive 4.3°N of Moon 21 02:33 LAST QUARTER MOON 21 04:08 Regulus 1.3°N of Moon 21 20:48 Moon at Ascending Node 23 13 Mercury 3.4°S of Saturn 24 19:47 Jupiter 1.9°S of Moon 27 14:08 Moon at Apogee: 406556 km 29 06:18 NEW MOON Dec 03 06:34 Venus 5.8°S of Moon 05 04:39 Mars 2.9°S of Moon 06 11:35 Moon at Descending Node 07 03:03 FIRST QUARTER MOON 10 05 Saturn in Conjunction with Sun 10 22 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 20.8°E 12 17:27 Moon at Perigee: 358463 km 12 22:14 Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon 13 18 Geminid Meteor Shower 13 18:06 FULL MOON 16 21:17 Beehive 4.1°N of Moon 18 12:13 Regulus 1.0°N of Moon 18 22:46 Moon at Ascending Node 20 19:56 LAST QUARTER MOON 21 04:45 Winter Solstice 22 02 Ursid Meteor Shower 22 10:37 Jupiter 2.4°S of Moon 24 23:55 Moon at Apogee: 405870 km 25 09 Mercury at Perihelion 28 13 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 29 00:53 NEW MOON | |||||||
Terms Used in Astronomical Events Calendar
- Perihelion - instant when a planet is closest to the Sun
- Aphelion - instant when a planet is furthest from the Sun
- Perigee - instant when the Moon is closest to Earth
- Apogee - instant when the Moon is furthest from Earth
- Inferior Conjunction - instant when a planet (Mercury or Venus) passes between Earth and the Sun
- Superior Conjunction - instant when a planet (Mercury or Venus) passes on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth
- Greatest Elongation - the maximum angular separation between the Sun and the planet (Mercury or Venus) as seen from Earth
- during eastern elongation (E), the planet appears as an evening star;
- during western elongation (W), the planet appears as a morning star - Opposition - instant when a planet appears opposite the Sun as seen from Earth
- Conjunction - instant when a planet appears closest the Sun as seen from Earth
- Occultation - the Moon occults or eclipses a star or planet
- Ascending Node - point where the Moon crosses from the southern to northern portion of its orbit
- Descending Node - point where the Moon crosses from the northern to the southern portion of its orbit
- Aldebaran - bright star in the constellation Taurus
- Pollux - bright star in the constellation Gemini
- Regulus - bright star in the constellation Leo
- Spica - bright star in the constellation Virgo
- Antares - bright star in the constellation Scorpius
- Pleiades - bright star cluster in the constellation Taurus
- Beehive - bright star cluster in the constellation Cancer
Calendars of Astronomical Events: 2011 to 2020
The Americas
Below are links to calendars of astronomical events from 2011 to 2020 for seven time zones in the Americas.
Choose a time zone and click on a year to get a calendar of astronomical events for that year.
| Calendars of Astronomical Events - The Americas | |||||||||||||||
| AST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| EST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| CST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| MST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| PST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| AKST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
| HST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |||||
- AST = Atlantic Standard Time (= GMT - 4 hours)
- EST = Eastern Standard Time (= GMT - 5 hours)
- CST = Central Standard Time (= GMT - 6 hours)
- MST = Mountain Standard Time (= GMT - 7 hours)
- PST = Pacific Standard Time (= GMT - 8 hours)
- AKST = Alaskan Standard Time (= GMT - 9 hours)
- HST = Hawaiian Standard Time (= GMT - 10 hours)
(where GMT = Greenwich Mean Time)
- Time Zones Abbreviations
A time zone may have a different name in different countries. Note the difference in hours between a given time zone and Greenwich Mean Time to help in identification.
For other years and other time zones, visit: Calendars of Astronomical Events.