Bundle up and grab a telescope: The last full moon of the decade will illuminate the night sky at 12:12 p.m. EST on Dec. 12.
If there are clear skies, the full moon will be bright and appear much larger than it really is, ABC 7 noted. It will be full a little after midnight on Thursday morning, Dec. 12, and appear “opposite” the sun at 12:12 a.m. EST, according to NASA. The moon will look full for roughly three days centered on this time, from Tuesday evening to Friday morning.
December’s full moon was nicknamed the “Cold Moon” by the Algonquin tribes due to the month’s long, cold nights. Another historic European name for this moon is the “Oak Moon,” a name that may be connected to ancient druid traditions of harvesting mistletoe from oak trees.
On 12/12 at 12:12 a.m. ET, the 12th full moon of the year will be visible in the night sky. December’s full moon is also known as the #ColdMoon: https://t.co/sGlwcWS66c pic.twitter.com/uRZskuWuZi
— AccuWeatherAstronomy (@AccuAstronomy) December 11, 2019
The month’s moon is also the closest to the winter solstice, and it’s also called the “Long Night Moon.” The plane of the moon’s orbit around our planet almost matches the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. When the path of the sun appears lowest in the sky for the year, the path of the full moon opposite the sun appears at its highest point in the sky. Some areas in the U.S. will get to see the moon in the sky for more than 13 hours.
The Cold Moon isn’t the only celestial treat of the month: Check out our skywatching roundup for more details on how to spot planetary pairings and more sights in December.
More on Geek.com:
- Best Skywatching Events in December 2019
- ‘Tiger Stripes’ on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Finally Explained
- NASA’s Closest-Yet Sun Flyby Sheds Light on Solar Mysteries
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