Full cold moon: When you can see the final full moon of 2022 across America
The "cold moon" will be at its fullest just after 11 p.m. EST Wednesday, and you'll have a little bit more time to gaze at it since daylight saving time ended last month. The event is also known as the 'long night moon' or the 'moon before yule.'
When and where to catch last full moon of 2022
Ambassador for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tony Rice explains why Wednesday’s full cold moon will be ‘particularly special’ for star gazers.
Get ready, Earthlings! December's full moon will shine bright Wednesday.
The "cold moon" will be at its fullest just after 11 p.m. EST, and you'll have a little bit more time to gaze at it since daylight saving time ended last month. The event is also known as the "long night moon" or the "moon before yule."
What is a cold moon?
The full moon takes a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite to the low sun. According to NASA, the moon will be above the horizon longer than at other times of the year.
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The cold moon rises at sunset behind Monte Prena Mountain in Gran Sasso National Park in Italy on Dec. 19, 2021. The cold moon is the last full moon of the year.
(Lorenzo Di Cola / NurPhoto / Getty Images)
According to NASA, the cold moon gets its name because December is the month when it really starts to get cold, although our coldest average temperatures are in January.
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"The long night moon gets its name because the full moon in December occurs near the solstice, which has the longest night of the year," NASA said.
Europeans call the December full moon the "moon before yule," named after Yule, an old northern European winter festival that is now associated with Christmas.
‘Alexa, create a new reminder’
If you happen to miss the event, there are other astronomy happenings you can set your FOX Weather app to remind you.
DECEMBER ASTRONOMY EVENTS: BEST METEOR SHOWER OF 2022, BRIGHT MARS AND FULL COLD MOON
Mars will make a comeback, of sorts, on Thursday when it will be at its closest point to Earth in two years. However, close is all relative when talking about the vastness of space. Mars will still be 38.6 million miles away at its closest approach.
This will be the best view of the red planet in two years since Mars opposition last occurred in October 2020.