2016 Calendar of Astronomical Events
2016 Phases of the Moon
Pacific Standard Time
The following table gives the date and time of the Moon's phases for the year. If Daylight Saving Time is in effect, add one hour to the times listed.
| 2016 Phases of the Moon | |||
| Pacific Standard Time | |||
| New Moon | First Quarter | Full Moon | Last Quarter |
| - | - | - | Jan 1 21:30 |
| Jan 9 17:30 | Jan 16 15:26 | Jan 23 17:46 | Jan 31 19:28 |
| Feb 8 06:39 | Feb 14 23:46 | Feb 22 10:20 | Mar 1 15:11 |
| Mar 8 17:54 T | Mar 15 09:03 | Mar 23 04:01 n | Mar 31 07:17 |
| Apr 7 03:24 | Apr 13 19:59 | Apr 21 21:24 | Apr 29 19:29 |
| May 6 11:30 | May 13 09:02 | May 21 13:15 | May 29 04:12 |
| Jun 4 19:00 | Jun 12 00:10 | Jun 20 03:02 | Jun 27 10:19 |
| Jul 4 03:01 | Jul 11 16:52 | Jul 19 14:57 | Jul 26 15:00 |
| Aug 2 12:45 | Aug 10 10:21 | Aug 18 01:27 | Aug 24 19:41 |
| Sep 1 01:03 A | Sep 9 03:49 | Sep 16 11:05 n | Sep 23 01:56 |
| Sep 30 16:12 | Oct 8 20:33 | Oct 15 20:23 | Oct 22 11:14 |
| Oct 30 09:38 | Nov 7 11:51 | Nov 14 05:52 | Nov 21 00:33 |
| Nov 29 04:18 | Dec 7 01:03 | Dec 13 16:06 | Dec 20 17:56 |
| Dec 28 22:53 | - | - | - |
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.
2016 Calendar of Astronomical Events
Pacific Standard Time
The following table gives the date and time of the important astronomical events for the year. If Daylight Saving Time is in effect, add one hour to the times listed. A key to astronomical terms appears below the calendar.
| 2016 Calendar of Astronomical Events | ||||||||
| January - June | July - December | |||||||
Date PST Event (h:m) Jan 01 21:30 LAST QUARTER MOON 02 03:53 Moon at Apogee: 404279 km 02 16:59 Earth at Perihelion: 0.98330 02 19:35 Spica 4.7°S of Moon 03 10:45 Mars 1.5°S of Moon 04 00 Quadrantid Meteor Shower 06 15:57 Venus 3.1°S of Moon 06 20:57 Saturn 3.3°S of Moon 07 03:34 Venus 6.3°N of Antares 08 10 Mercury at Perihelion 09 17:30 NEW MOON 14 06 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 14 07:48 Moon at Descending Node 14 18:10 Moon at Perigee: 369619 km 16 15:26 FIRST QUARTER MOON 19 18:16 Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon 23 17:46 FULL MOON 25 21:10 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 27 15:58 Moon at Ascending Node 27 17:14 Jupiter 1.4°N of Moon 30 01:10 Moon at Apogee: 404553 km 30 03:35 Spica 5.0°S of Moon 31 19:28 LAST QUARTER MOON Feb 01 00:48 Mars 2.7°S of Moon 03 11:05 Saturn 3.5°S of Moon 05 23:32 Venus 4.3°S of Moon 06 08:47 Mercury 3.8°S of Moon 06 17 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 25.6°W 08 06:39 NEW MOON 10 12:46 Moon at Descending Node 10 18:42 Moon at Perigee: 364358 km 12 19 Mercury 4.0° of Venus 14 23:46 FIRST QUARTER MOON 15 23:41 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 21 09 Mercury at Aphelion 22 04:48 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 22 10:20 FULL MOON 23 19:58 Jupiter 1.7°N of Moon 23 22:10 Moon at Ascending Node 26 11:05 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 26 19:28 Moon at Apogee: 405383 km 28 07 Neptune in Conjunction with Sun 29 10:16 Mars 3.6°S of Moon Mar 01 15:11 LAST QUARTER MOON 01 22:53 Saturn 3.6°S of Moon 07 02:54 Venus 3.5°S of Moon 08 02 Jupiter at Opposition 08 17:54 NEW MOON 08 17:58 Total Solar Eclipse; mag=1.042 08 22:31 Moon at Descending Node 09 23:02 Moon at Perigee: 359509 km 14 05:44 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 15 09:03 FIRST QUARTER MOON 19 20:31 Vernal Equinox 20 06 Venus at Aphelion 20 11:05 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 21 19:57 Jupiter 2.1°N of Moon 22 04:59 Moon at Ascending Node 23 03:48 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.769 23 04:01 FULL MOON 23 12 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 24 17:50 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 25 06:16 Moon at Apogee: 406125 km 28 10:45 Mars 4.2°S of Moon 29 06:58 Saturn 3.5°S of Moon 31 07:17 LAST QUARTER MOON Apr 05 09 Mercury at Perihelion 05 09:27 Moon at Descending Node 06 00:30 Venus 0.7°S of Moon: Occn. 07 03:24 NEW MOON 07 09:36 Moon at Perigee: 357164 km 08 02:35 Mercury 5.2°N of Moon 09 13 Uranus in Conjunction with Sun 10 14:05 Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon 13 19:59 FIRST QUARTER MOON 16 16:46 Regulus 2.5°N of Moon 17 20:42 Jupiter 2.2°N of Moon 18 06 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 19.9°E 18 10:04 Moon at Ascending Node 20 23:59 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 21 08:05 Moon at Apogee: 406352 km 21 21:24 FULL MOON 21 21 Lyrid Meteor Shower 24 20:13 Mars 4.9°S of Moon 25 11:28 Saturn 3.3°S of Moon 27 05:51 Mars 4.8°N of Antares 28 00:14 Mercury 3.0°S of Pleiades 29 19:29 LAST QUARTER MOON May 02 17:27 Moon at Descending Node 04 11 Eta-Aquarid Meteor Shower 05 20:14 Moon at Perigee: 357828 km 06 11:30 NEW MOON 08 00:21 Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon 09 07 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 13 09:02 FIRST QUARTER MOON 13 23:06 Regulus 2.3°N of Moon 15 01:30 Jupiter 2.0°N of Moon 15 12:39 Moon at Ascending Node 18 06:07 Spica 5.1°S of Moon 18 14:06 Moon at Apogee: 405934 km 21 13:15 FULL MOON 22 03 Mars at Opposition 22 13:59 Saturn 3.2°S of Moon 29 04:12 LAST QUARTER MOON 29 20:45 Moon at Descending Node Jun 02 22 Saturn at Opposition 03 01:47 Mercury 0.7°N of Moon: Occn. 03 02:55 Moon at Perigee: 361142 km 04 19:00 NEW MOON 05 01 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 24.2°W 06 14 Venus at Superior Conjunction 10 06:47 Regulus 2.0°N of Moon 11 11:35 Jupiter 1.5°N of Moon 11 14:20 Moon at Ascending Node 12 00:10 FIRST QUARTER MOON 13 02:06 Mercury 6.4°S of Pleiades 14 12:47 Spica 5.3°S of Moon 15 04:00 Moon at Apogee: 405022 km 18 16:40 Saturn 3.3°S of Moon 18 19:39 Mercury 3.7°N of Aldebaran 20 03:02 FULL MOON 20 14:35 Summer Solstice 25 21:28 Moon at Descending Node 27 10:19 LAST QUARTER MOON 30 22:45 Moon at Perigee: 365983 km |
Date PST Event (h:m) Jul 01 19:58 Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon 02 08 Mercury at Perihelion 04 03:01 NEW MOON 04 07:59 Earth at Aphelion: 1.01675 06 19 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 07 15:33 Regulus 1.8°N of Moon 08 17:41 Moon at Ascending Node 09 02:08 Jupiter 0.9°N of Moon: Occn. 10 15 Venus at Perihelion 11 16:52 FIRST QUARTER MOON 11 20:13 Spica 5.6°S of Moon 12 21:24 Moon at Apogee: 404272 km 15 21:11 Saturn 3.4°S of Moon 19 14:57 FULL MOON 22 23:49 Moon at Descending Node 26 15:00 LAST QUARTER MOON 27 03:25 Moon at Perigee: 369659 km 27 13 Delta-Aquarid Meteor Shower 29 02:53 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 30 07:55 Mercury 0.3°N of Regulus Aug 02 12:45 NEW MOON 03 22:19 Venus 2.9°N of Moon 04 14:12 Mercury 0.6°N of Moon: Occn. 04 23:48 Moon at Ascending Node 05 03:57 Venus 1.0°N of Regulus 05 19:28 Jupiter 0.2°N of Moon: Occn. 08 04:08 Spica 5.8°S of Moon 09 16:05 Moon at Apogee: 404266 km 10 10:21 FIRST QUARTER MOON 12 04:10 Saturn 3.7°S of Moon 12 04 Perseid Meteor Shower 15 08 Mercury at Aphelion 16 13 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 27.4°E 18 01:27 FULL MOON 19 06:14 Moon at Descending Node 19 22 Mercury 3.8° of Jupiter 21 17:20 Moon at Perigee: 367047 km 23 21:09 Mars 1.8°N of Antares 24 19:41 LAST QUARTER MOON 25 08:21 Aldebaran 0.2°S of Moon 28 12 Mercury 5.0° of Venus Sep 01 01:03 NEW MOON 01 01:08 Annular Solar Eclipse; mag=0.969 01 07:27 Moon at Ascending Node 02 07 Neptune at Opposition 03 02:33 Venus 1.1°S of Moon: Occn. 04 11:56 Spica 5.8°S of Moon 04 12:05 Saturn 5.9°N of Antares 06 10:44 Moon at Apogee: 405059 km 08 13:23 Saturn 3.8°S of Moon 09 03:49 FIRST QUARTER MOON 12 16 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 15 15:55 Moon at Descending Node 16 10:56 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.899 16 11:05 FULL MOON 18 07:15 Venus 2.2°N of Spica 18 09:00 Moon at Perigee: 361894 km 21 14:13 Aldebaran 0.2°S of Moon 22 06:21 Autumnal Equinox 23 01:56 LAST QUARTER MOON 25 22 Jupiter in Conjunction with Sun 27 14:32 Regulus 1.7°N of Moon 28 07 Mercury at Perihelion 28 11 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 17.9°W 28 14:06 Moon at Ascending Node 29 02:42 Mercury 0.7°N of Moon: Occn. 30 16:12 NEW MOON Oct 03 09:30 Venus 5.0°S of Moon 04 03:02 Moon at Apogee: 406100 km 06 00:04 Saturn 3.8°S of Moon 08 20:33 FIRST QUARTER MOON 13 01:43 Moon at Descending Node 15 02 Uranus at Opposition 15 20:23 FULL MOON 16 15:36 Moon at Perigee: 357860 km 18 22:18 Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon 20 21 Orionid Meteor Shower 22 11:14 LAST QUARTER MOON 24 20:01 Regulus 1.6°N of Moon 25 17:44 Moon at Ascending Node 26 02:56 Venus 3.0°N of Antares 27 08 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 28 01:33 Jupiter 1.4°S of Moon 29 04 Mars at Perihelion 30 09:38 NEW MOON 31 11:29 Moon at Apogee: 406660 km Nov 02 11:38 Saturn 3.7°S of Moon 04 21 S Taurid Meteor Shower 06 04:07 Mars 5.3°S of Moon 07 11:51 FIRST QUARTER MOON 09 07:57 Moon at Descending Node 11 20 N Taurid Meteor Shower 14 03:23 Moon at Perigee: 356512 km 14 05:52 FULL MOON 15 08:50 Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon 17 03 Leonid Meteor Shower 19 09:51 Beehive 4.3°N of Moon 21 00:33 LAST QUARTER MOON 21 02:08 Regulus 1.3°N of Moon 21 18:48 Moon at Ascending Node 23 11 Mercury 3.4° of Saturn 24 17:47 Jupiter 1.9°S of Moon 27 12:08 Moon at Apogee: 406556 km 29 04:18 NEW MOON Dec 03 04:34 Venus 5.8°S of Moon 05 02:39 Mars 2.9°S of Moon 06 09:35 Moon at Descending Node 07 01:03 FIRST QUARTER MOON 10 03 Saturn in Conjunction with Sun 10 20 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 20.8°E 12 15:27 Moon at Perigee: 358463 km 12 20:14 Aldebaran 0.5°S of Moon 13 16 Geminid Meteor Shower 13 16:06 FULL MOON 16 19:17 Beehive 4.1°N of Moon 18 10:13 Regulus 1.0°N of Moon 18 20:46 Moon at Ascending Node 20 17:56 LAST QUARTER MOON 21 02:45 Winter Solstice 22 00 Ursid Meteor Shower 22 08:37 Jupiter 2.4°S of Moon 24 21:55 Moon at Apogee: 405870 km 25 07 Mercury at Perihelion 28 11 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 28 22:53 NEW MOON |
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Astronomical Definitions
- Perihelion - the instant when a planet is closest to the Sun
- Aphelion - the instant when a planet is furthest from the Sun
- Perigee - the instant when the Moon is closest to Earth
- Apogee - the instant when the Moon is furthest from Earth
- Inferior Conjunction - the instant when a planet passes between Earth and the Sun (Mercury or Venus)
- Superior Conjunction - the instant when a planet passes on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth (Mercury or Venus)
- Greatest Elongation - elongation is the apparent angle between a planet and the Sun 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 - the instant when a planet appears opposite the Sun as seen from Earth
- Conjunction - the instant when a planet appears closest the Sun as seen from Earth
- Occultation - the Moon occults or eclipses a star or planet
- Ascending Node - the point where a planet crosses from the southern to northern portion of its orbit
- Descending Node - the point where a planet crosses from the northern to the southern portion of its orbit
Calendars for Other Years and Time Zones
The table below contains links to astronomical events calendars for a range of years and Time Zones. Abbreviations for the time zones are: GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, AST = Atlantic Standard Time, EST = Eastern Standard Time, CST = Central Standard Time, MST = Mountain Standard Time, PST = Pacific Standard Time, AKST = Alaskan Standard Time, and HST = Hawaiian Standard Time.
| Calendar of Astronomical Events | |||||||||||||||
| GMT | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| AST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| EST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| CST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| MST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| PST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| AKST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| HST | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
For years or time zones not covered above, please visit SKYCAL the astronomical events calendar generator.