2016Calendar of Astronomical Events

    
2016Phases of the Moon
Gulf Standard Time
The following table gives the date and time of the Moon's phases for the year. The times listed are for Gulf Standard Time(Greenwich Mean Time + 4 hours).If Daylight Saving Time is in effect, add one hour to the times listed. 
   
      2016 Phases of the Moon   
      Gulf Standard Time
 New Moon  First Quarter  Full Moon  Last Quarter 
--- Jan  2  09:30   
 Jan 10  05:30    Jan 17  03:26    Jan 24  05:46    Feb  1  07:28   
 Feb  8  18:39    Feb 15  11:46    Feb 22  22:20    Mar  2  03:11   
 Mar  9  05:54 T  Mar 15  21:03    Mar 23  16:01 n  Mar 31  19:17   
 Apr  7  15:24    Apr 14  07:59    Apr 22  09:24    Apr 30  07:29   
 May  6  23:30    May 13  21:02    May 22  01:15    May 29  16:12   
 Jun  5  07:00    Jun 12  12:10    Jun 20  15:02    Jun 27  22:19   
 Jul  4  15:01    Jul 12  04:52    Jul 20  02:57    Jul 27  03:00   
 Aug  3  00:45    Aug 10  22:21    Aug 18  13:27    Aug 25  07:41   
 Sep  1  13:03 A  Sep  9  15:49    Sep 16  23:05 n  Sep 23  13:56   
 Oct  1  04:12    Oct  9  08:33    Oct 16  08:23    Oct 22  23:14   
 Oct 30  21:38    Nov  7  23:51    Nov 14  17:52    Nov 21  12:33   
 Nov 29  16:18    Dec  7  13:03    Dec 14  04:06    Dec 21  05:56   
 Dec 29  10:53   ---
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
Gulf Standard Time
The following table gives the date and time of the important astronomical events for the year. The times listed are for Gulf Standard Time(Greenwich Mean Time + 4 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   
   Gulf Standard Time  
 January - June   July - December 
Date     GST   Event        (h:m)Jan 02  09:30  LAST QUARTER MOON     02  15:53  Moon at Apogee: 404279 km    03  03     Earth at Perihelion: 0.98330 AU    03  07:35  Spica 4.7°S of Moon    03  22:45  Mars 1.5°S of Moon    04  12     Quadrantid Meteor Shower    07  03:57  Venus 3.1°S of Moon    07  08:57  Saturn 3.3°S of Moon    07  15:34  Venus 6.3°N of Antares    08  22     Mercury at Perihelion     09  12     Venus 0.1°N of Saturn    10  05:30  NEW MOON     14  18     Mercury at Inferior Conjunction     14  19:48  Moon at Descending Node     15  06:10  Moon at Perigee: 369619 km    17  03:26  FIRST QUARTER MOON     20  06:16  Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon    24  05:46  FULL MOON     26  09:10  Regulus 2.5°N of Moon    28  03:58  Moon at Ascending Node     28  05:14  Jupiter 1.4°N of Moon    30  13:10  Moon at Apogee: 404553 km    30  15:35  Spica 5.0°S of MoonFeb 01  07:28  LAST QUARTER MOON     01  12:48  Mars 2.7°S of Moon    03  23:05  Saturn 3.5°S of Moon    06  11:32  Venus 4.3°S of Moon    06  20:47  Mercury 3.8°S of Moon    07  05     Mercury at Greatest Elong: 25.6°W    08  18:39  NEW MOON     11  00:46  Moon at Descending Node     11  06:42  Moon at Perigee: 364358 km    13  07     Mercury 4.0°N of Venus    15  11:46  FIRST QUARTER MOON     16  11:41  Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon    21  21     Mercury at Aphelion     22  16:48  Regulus 2.5°N of Moon    22  22:20  FULL MOON     24  07:58  Jupiter 1.7°N of Moon    24  10:10  Moon at Ascending Node     26  23:05  Spica 5.1°S of Moon    27  07:28  Moon at Apogee: 405383 km    28  19     Neptune in Conjunction with Sun     29  22:16  Mars 3.6°S of MoonMar 02  03:11  LAST QUARTER MOON     02  10:53  Saturn 3.6°S of Moon    07  14:54  Venus 3.5°S of Moon    08  14     Jupiter at Opposition     09  05:54  NEW MOON     09  05:57  Total Solar Eclipse; mag=1.045    09  10:31  Moon at Descending Node     10  11:02  Moon at Perigee: 359509 km    14  17:44  Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon    15  21:03  FIRST QUARTER MOON     20  08:31  Vernal Equinox     20  18     Venus at Aphelion     20  23:05  Regulus 2.5°N of Moon    22  07:57  Jupiter 2.1°N of Moon    22  16:59  Moon at Ascending Node     23  15:47  Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.775    23  16:01  FULL MOON     24  00     Mercury at Superior Conjunction     25  05:50  Spica 5.1°S of Moon    25  18:16  Moon at Apogee: 406125 km    28  22:45  Mars 4.2°S of Moon    29  18:58  Saturn 3.5°S of Moon    31  19:17  LAST QUARTER MOON Apr 05  21     Mercury at Perihelion     05  21:27  Moon at Descending Node     06  12:30  Venus 0.7°S of Moon: Occn.    07  15:24  NEW MOON     07  21:36  Moon at Perigee: 357164 km    08  14:35  Mercury 5.2°N of Moon    10  01     Uranus in Conjunction with Sun     11  02:05  Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon    14  07:59  FIRST QUARTER MOON     17  04:46  Regulus 2.5°N of Moon    18  08:42  Jupiter 2.2°N of Moon    18  18     Mercury at Greatest Elong: 19.9°E    18  22:04  Moon at Ascending Node     21  11:59  Spica 5.1°S of Moon    21  20:05  Moon at Apogee: 406352 km    22  09:24  FULL MOON     22  09     Lyrid Meteor Shower    25  08:13  Mars 4.9°S of Moon    25  23:28  Saturn 3.3°S of Moon    27  17:51  Mars 4.8°N of Antares    28  12:14  Mercury 3.0°S of Pleiades    30  07:29  LAST QUARTER MOON May 03  05:27  Moon at Descending Node     04  23     Eta-Aquarid Meteor Shower    06  08:14  Moon at Perigee: 357828 km    06  23:30  NEW MOON     08  12:21  Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon    09  19     Mercury at Inferior Conjunction     13  21:02  FIRST QUARTER MOON     14  11:06  Regulus 2.3°N of Moon    15  13:30  Jupiter 2.0°N of Moon    16  00:39  Moon at Ascending Node     18  18:07  Spica 5.1°S of Moon    19  02:06  Moon at Apogee: 405934 km    22  01:15  FULL MOON     22  15     Mars at Opposition     23  01:59  Saturn 3.2°S of Moon    29  16:12  LAST QUARTER MOON     30  08:45  Moon at Descending Node Jun 03  10     Saturn at Opposition     03  13:47  Mercury 0.7°N of Moon: Occn.    03  14:55  Moon at Perigee: 361142 km    05  07:00  NEW MOON     05  13     Mercury at Greatest Elong: 24.2°W    07  02     Venus at Superior Conjunction     10  18:47  Regulus 2.0°N of Moon    11  23:35  Jupiter 1.5°N of Moon    12  02:20  Moon at Ascending Node     12  12:10  FIRST QUARTER MOON     13  14:06  Mercury 6.4°S of Pleiades    15  00:47  Spica 5.3°S of Moon    15  16:00  Moon at Apogee: 405022 km    19  04:40  Saturn 3.3°S of Moon    19  07:39  Mercury 3.7°N of Aldebaran    20  15:02  FULL MOON     21  02:35  Summer Solstice     26  09:28  Moon at Descending Node     27  22:19  LAST QUARTER MOON 
Date     GST   Event        (h:m)Jul 01  10:45  Moon at Perigee: 365983 km    02  07:58  Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon    02  20     Mercury at Perihelion     04  15:01  NEW MOON     04  20     Earth at Aphelion: 1.01675 AU    07  07     Mercury at Superior Conjunction     08  03:33  Regulus 1.8°N of Moon    09  05:41  Moon at Ascending Node     09  14:08  Jupiter 0.9°N of Moon: Occn.    11  03     Venus at Perihelion     12  04:52  FIRST QUARTER MOON     12  08:13  Spica 5.6°S of Moon    13  09:24  Moon at Apogee: 404272 km    16  09:11  Saturn 3.4°S of Moon    17  03     Mercury 0.5°N of Venus    20  02:57  FULL MOON     23  11:49  Moon at Descending Node     27  03:00  LAST QUARTER MOON     27  15:25  Moon at Perigee: 369659 km    28  01     Delta-Aquarid Meteor Shower    29  14:53  Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon    30  19:55  Mercury 0.3°N of RegulusAug 03  00:45  NEW MOON     04  10:19  Venus 2.9°N of Moon    05  02:12  Mercury 0.6°N of Moon: Occn.    05  11:48  Moon at Ascending Node     05  15:57  Venus 1.0°N of Regulus    06  07:28  Jupiter 0.2°N of Moon: Occn.    08  16:08  Spica 5.8°S of Moon    10  04:05  Moon at Apogee: 404266 km    10  22:21  FIRST QUARTER MOON     12  16:10  Saturn 3.7°S of Moon    12  16     Perseid Meteor Shower    15  20     Mercury at Aphelion     17  01     Mercury at Greatest Elong: 27.4°E    18  13:27  FULL MOON     19  18:14  Moon at Descending Node     20  10     Mercury 3.8°S of Jupiter    22  05:20  Moon at Perigee: 367047 km    24  09:09  Mars 1.8°N of Antares    25  05     Mars 4.3°S of Saturn    25  07:41  LAST QUARTER MOON     25  20:21  Aldebaran 0.2°S of Moon    28  02     Venus 0.1°N of Jupiter    29  00     Mercury 5.0°S of VenusSep 01  13:03  NEW MOON     01  13:07  Annular Solar Eclipse; mag=0.974    01  19:27  Moon at Ascending Node     02  19     Neptune at Opposition     03  14:33  Venus 1.1°S of Moon: Occn.    04  23:56  Spica 5.8°S of Moon    05  00:05  Saturn 5.9°N of Antares    06  22:44  Moon at Apogee: 405059 km    09  01:23  Saturn 3.8°S of Moon    09  15:49  FIRST QUARTER MOON     13  04     Mercury at Inferior Conjunction     16  03:55  Moon at Descending Node     16  22:54  Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.908    16  23:05  FULL MOON     18  19:15  Venus 2.2°N of Spica    18  21:00  Moon at Perigee: 361894 km    22  02:13  Aldebaran 0.2°S of Moon    22  18:21  Autumnal Equinox     23  13:56  LAST QUARTER MOON     26  10     Jupiter in Conjunction with Sun     28  02:32  Regulus 1.7°N of Moon    28  19     Mercury at Perihelion     28  23     Mercury at Greatest Elong: 17.9°W    29  02:06  Moon at Ascending Node     29  14:42  Mercury 0.7°N of Moon: Occn.Oct 01  04:12  NEW MOON     03  21:30  Venus 5.0°S of Moon    04  15:02  Moon at Apogee: 406100 km    06  12:04  Saturn 3.8°S of Moon    09  08:33  FIRST QUARTER MOON     11  14     Mercury 0.8°N of Jupiter    13  13:43  Moon at Descending Node     15  14     Uranus at Opposition     16  08:23  FULL MOON     17  03:36  Moon at Perigee: 357860 km    19  10:18  Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon    21  09     Orionid Meteor Shower    22  23:14  LAST QUARTER MOON     25  08:01  Regulus 1.6°N of Moon    26  05:44  Moon at Ascending Node     26  14:56  Venus 3.0°N of Antares    27  20     Mercury at Superior Conjunction     28  13:33  Jupiter 1.4°S of Moon    29  17     Mars at Perihelion:  1.38124 AU    30  06     Venus 3.0°S of Saturn    30  21:38  NEW MOON     31  23:29  Moon at Apogee: 406660 kmNov 02  23:38  Saturn 3.7°S of Moon    05  09     S Taurid Meteor Shower    06  16:07  Mars 5.3°S of Moon    07  23:51  FIRST QUARTER MOON     09  19:57  Moon at Descending Node     12  08     N Taurid Meteor Shower    14  15:23  Moon at Perigee: 356512 km    14  17:52  FULL MOON     15  20:50  Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon    17  15     Leonid Meteor Shower    19  21:51  Beehive 4.3°N of Moon    21  12:33  LAST QUARTER MOON     21  14:08  Regulus 1.3°N of Moon    22  06:48  Moon at Ascending Node     23  23     Mercury 3.4°S of Saturn    25  05:47  Jupiter 1.9°S of Moon    28  00:08  Moon at Apogee: 406556 km    29  16:18  NEW MOON Dec 03  16:34  Venus 5.8°S of Moon    05  14:39  Mars 2.9°S of Moon    06  21:35  Moon at Descending Node     07  13:03  FIRST QUARTER MOON     10  15     Saturn in Conjunction with Sun     11  08     Mercury at Greatest Elong: 20.8°E    13  03:27  Moon at Perigee: 358463 km    13  08:14  Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon    14  04     Geminid Meteor Shower    14  04:06  FULL MOON     17  07:17  Beehive 4.1°N of Moon    18  22:13  Regulus 1.0°N of Moon    19  08:46  Moon at Ascending Node     21  05:56  LAST QUARTER MOON     21  14:45  Winter Solstice     22  12     Ursid Meteor Shower    22  20:37  Jupiter 2.4°S of Moon    25  09:55  Moon at Apogee: 405870 km    25  19     Mercury at Perihelion     28  23     Mercury at Inferior Conjunction     29  10:53  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
Europe, Africa, and the Middle East
Below are links to calendars of astronomical events from 2011 to 2020 for five time zones 
in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. 
Choose a time zone and click on a year to get a calendar of astronomical events for that year.
   Calendar of Astronomical Events - Europe, Africa, & Middle East
   GMT    2011     2012     2013     2014     2015     2016     2017     2018     2019     2020 
   CET    2011     2012     2013     2014     2015     2016     2017     2018     2019     2020 
   EET    2011     2012     2013     2014     2015     2016     2017     2018     2019     2020 
   MSK    2011     2012     2013     2014     2015     2016     2017     2018     2019     2020 
   GST    2011     2012     2013     2014     2015     2016     2017     2018     2019     2020 
        Time Zones Abbreviations
        • GMT = Greenwich Mean Time 
        • CET = Central European Time (= GMT + 1 hour)
        • EET = Eastern European Time (= GMT + 2 hours)
        • MSK = Moscow Time (= GMT + 3 hours)
        • GST = Gulf Standard Time (= GMT + 4 hours)
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.
 
Accuracy of the Astronomical Events Calendars
The goal of the Astronomical Events Calendars is to present a wide range of solar system phenomena with reasonable accuracy. In general, events listed to the nearest hour are accurate to ± 30 minutes.Events listed with a precision in hours and minutes (i.e., hh:mm) are typically accurate to ± 5 minutes or less.  
The following table gives a more detailed breakdown of the accuracy of times for various astronomical events.
Accuracy of the Astronomical Events Calendars
 Solstice/Equinox (Earth)  ± 0.5 minute 
 Aphelion/Perihelion (Earth)  ± 30 minutes;  ± 0.00001 AU 
 Solar and Lunar Eclipses   ± 0.5 minute 
 Phases of the Moon  ± 0.5 minute 
 Moon at Nodes  ± 2 minutes 
 Apogee/Perigee of Moon  ± 5 minutes; ± 5 kilometers 
 Conjunctions of Moon with Star or Planet  ± 10 minutes 
 Conjunctions of Planet with Planet  ± 3 hours 
 Inferior/Superior Conjunctions (Mercury & Venus)  ± 30 minutes 
 Greatest Elongation (Mercury & Venus)  ± 30 minutes 
 Opposition/Conjunction (Outer Planets)  ± 3 hours 
 Aphelion/Perihelion of Planets  ± 30 minutes 

Acknowledgements
All calculations are by Fred Espenak and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Algorithms used in predicting many of the astronomical events are based on Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus (Willmann-Bell Inc. Richmond 1998). 
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by the acknowledgment: 

Return to: Calendars of Astronomical Events
Return to: Planetary Ephemeris Data