Cold Full Moon

There are many last minute activities as we had into the Christmas Holiday. As we do look for a  Full Moon at 8:16pm on December 23rd. We refer to this as the Full Cold Moon. You can tell if a moon is moving toward a Full Moon or a New Moon based upon it’s shape. If you can form a “D” with the lit part, it is  dilating towards a Full Moon. If you can form a “c” with the lit part, it is constricting towards a New Moon.

The Winter Solstice occurs on Saturday, December 22nd. The latest sunrise and sunset do not occur on the night of the solstice. The earliest sunset occurred on December 8th this year and the latest sunrise will be on January 5, 2008. Native Americans names Full Moons a long time ago. The Moon was so named due to the weather getting cold this night and the nights being the longest and darkest during December.

This month’s Full Moon is sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the winter night is indeed and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite of the low Sun.

. Enjoy time with family and friends. And, don’t forget the neighbor who may be alone this time of year. Merry Christmas and all the best wishes for the New Year