Cold Moon: Exactly When To See The Most Northerly Full Moon ...

A night view of Mount Erek as the "Cold Moon" appears in the sky in Van, Turkiye on December 07, ... [+] 2022. (Photo by Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The twelfth and final full moon of 2024 — the “Cold Moon” — will rise next weekend to light up early evening skies as it rises in the east during dusk.

Named the “Cold Moon” — but also the “Long Nights Moon” and the “Moon Before Yule” — here’s everything you need to know about it, including exactly when, where and how to see it at its best from where you are:

The “Cold Moon” will turn full at 9:01 UTC/4:01 a.m. EST on Sunday, December 15, and the best time to watch it rise will be moonrise that day. That’s just after two days after the peak of the annual Geminids meteor shower.

A full moon looks best when it appears on the eastern horizon just after the sun has set in the west. It will look more prominent than usual and be a beautiful, muted orange. The best time to view it will be a few minutes after moonrise where you are, though it depends on your location.

For the best views of the “Cold Moon”—clear skies allowing—get somewhere high up that faces east for a clear view low down to the horizon. Naked eyes are fine, though a pair of binoculars will give you a spectacular close-up.

The Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, align with the southerly ... [+] rising and setting points during a major lunar standstill.

This weekend’s full Cold Moon marks a rare celestial event: the Major Lunar Standstill, occurring only once every 18.6 years. On Dec. 15, 2024, the full moon will rise and set at its most extreme northerly points. The phenomenon happens because of the moon’s tilted orbit and Earth’s axial tilt, which result in dramatic rise and set positions over a two-year cycle — but this is the weekend to see the most northerly full moonrise. It won’t happen again until December 2043.

December’s full moon is always the highest-hanging full moon of the year. That’s because the moon mirrors the sun’s path across the sky. Since the sun is at its lowest in the sky this month, as seen from the northern hemisphere, the full moon — opposite the sun — must be the highest. It will also be in the night sky for longer than any other full moon of the year.

The next full moon after the “Cold Moon” will be the full “Wolf Moon” at 22:26 UTC/5:26 p.m. EST on Monday, January 13—the first full moon of winter and of 2025.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

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