Space has one final gift this Christmas — the Cold Moon.
The Cold Moon will be the last full moon for the year, and it will take center stage in the middle of the sky’s brightest constellations on Dec. 26, Space.com said.
It will be the first full moon of the winter solstice, the Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
The moon will be full at 7:33 p.m. EST on Tuesday but on the East Coast, you will start seeing it earlier at around 4 p.m with sunset about 34 minutes later.
It will rise in Gemini but you’ll also be able to see Auriga, Orion and Taurus, as well as Castor and Pollux stars.
If the Dec. 26′s viewing is the best, you also could see it on Dec. 24 or Dec. 25 when it is almost full.
The image of the Cold Moon may bring to mind “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” where it was written: “The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the luster of mid-day to the objects below.”
The name of the Cold Moon comes from the season and the weather it brings, derived from European settlers and the northeastern native people.
It is also known as the Long Night Moon, Drift Clearing Moon, Frost Exploding Trees Moon, Moon of the Popping Trees, Snow Moon, Winter Maker Moon and the Hoar Frost Moon.
To track the moon rise in your area, visit the Almanac’s Moon Rise Calculator.
Along with the moon and bright constellations, there will also be five planets that will be able to be seen by the naked eye throughout the night and early morning: Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Mercury.
