It's worth looking at the sky next night, because the last full moon of this year is ahead of us. It is called the full Cold Moon, and sometimes also the full Long Nights Moon. During this phenomenon, the disk of our natural satellite will be the least illuminated this year among all full moons.
The December full moon will be at its maximum at 10.02 on Sunday. However, on the night from Saturday to Sunday it is worth looking at the sky, because the Silver Globe will be very clearly visible.
According to the Time and Date website, during the December full moon the disk of the Moon will be the least illuminated this year, 99.82 percent. It is worth recalling that the dial is almost never 100% illuminated during this phenomenon. Why is this happening?
A full moon occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. However, the orbit of our natural satellite is slightly tilted relative to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. This tilt means that the Moon is not always directly opposite the Sun. And that is why it is illuminated to varying degrees, depending on the inclination.
This year, during the March and April full moons, the disk of our natural satellite was the most illuminated, 99.9 percent.
Cold Moon – where does the name come from?
The December full moon is called the Cold Moon. This term refers to the increasingly colder days. It comes from the traditions of the indigenous people of North America.
The Celts called the December full moon the Oak Moon, honoring the religious rituals carried out in December. The Anglo-Saxon peoples called it the Long Night Moon.
Moon phasesNASA/Bill Dunford
tvnmeteo.pl, timeanddate.com
Main photo source: Shutterstock