A cold moon will rise over SC soon. Here’s when and what that means, Farmer’s Almanac says

Sarah Claire McDonald

South Carolina residents should get ready to witness the last full moon of the year.

On Dec. 7 the cold moon will be high in the sky overnight.

This full moon will reach its peak illumination at 11:09 p.m., according to the Farmer’s Almanac.

This doesn’t mean that is the only time you can see it. Viewers can start looking just after sunset.

December’s full moon is predicted to have a high trajectory in the sky. Meaning, this year’s cold moon will be above the horizon for longer than most full moons, Farmer’s Almanac states.

This year, you might even be able to see our red-colored neighbor, Mars, beside the full moon.

This full moon will coincide with the midpoint of the Mars retrograde, which takes place from Oct. 30 to Jan. 13, according to Conde Naste Traveler.

Mars retrograde only happens about once every two years.

“Every 26 months, Earth comes up from behind and overtakes Mars. While we’re passing by the red planet this year, it will look to us as though Mars is moving up and down. Then, as we move farther along our curved orbit and see the planet from a different angle, the illusion will disappear and we will once again see Mars move in a straight line”, a NASA website states.

This appearance of strange movement is called “retrograde motion.” This illusion also happens with Jupiter and the other planets that orbit farther from the sun, NASA continued.

As for December’s full moon, the cold moon isn’t the only name it has been known by.

Another well known name is long night moon. This is because this full moon rises during one of the “longest” nights of the year, due to the closeness toward the December winter solstice. The name also fits because this full moon shines above the horizon for a longer period of time than most other full moons, according to Farmer’s Almanac.

The Long Night Moon rises behind a cross at Christ Community Church in Lawrence, Kan., Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015. When the moon turns full, at 5:11am cst., it will be the first full moon to fall on Christmas day since 1977. Named the Long Night Moon because it’s the first full moon to follow the winter solstice, it’s also known as the Cold Moon.
The Long Night Moon rises behind a cross at Christ Community Church in Lawrence, Kan., Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015. When the moon turns full, at 5:11am cst., it will be the first full moon to fall on Christmas day since 1977. Named the Long Night Moon because it’s the first full moon to follow the winter solstice, it’s also known as the Cold Moon.

As for other names December’s full moon goes by, “the Anglo-Saxon name for the moon was the moon before Yule, which is the ancient celebration around the winter solstice. The December full moon is also called oak moon, while a Celtic name was wolf moon. Today, however, this name is more common for the January full moon,” timeanddate.com states.

This full moon is the first of the four moon phases set to take place this month.

  • Last Quarter: Dec. 16, 3:59 a.m.

  • New Moon: Dec. 23, 5:17 a.m.

  • First Quarter: Dec. 29, 8:22 p.m.

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