Tonight, watch for the full moon, which we in the Northern Hemisphere call the Long Night Moon, Cold Moon or Moon before Yule. Watch as the full moon shines all night long, starting at sunset on December 5, 2014. The full moon, our nocturnal sun, stays out throughout the night, and then sleeps in during the day.
The full moon shines in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull, not far from the constellation’s brightest star, Aldebaran. See chart above. However, this star may be hard to see in the full moon’s glare. Six months from now – in June – it’ll be the sun that shines in front of Taurus the Bull, and which obscures our view of the star Aldebaran.
The December full moon, like the June sun, climbs up high as seen from the Northern Hemisphere sky. That’s another reason for the name Long Night Moon. The full moon nearest the winter solstice travels a high path across the sky and so stays in the sky a long time.
From the Southern Hemisphere, where the days are long and the nights are short, perhaps we could call the December full moon the Short Night Moon. After all, it’s summer in that hemisphere now, and nights are short. From the Southern Hemisphere, the December full moon hangs low, mimicking that hemisphere’s June sun.
From either hemisphere, tonight’s full moon rises in the east around sunset, climbs highest for the night around midnight and sets in the west around sunrise.
Wherever you may live worldwide, watch for tonight’s moon to light up the nighttime from dusk until dawn.
EarthSky lunar calendars make great gifts for astronomy-minded friends and family.
Day and night sides of Earth at instant of December 2014 full moon
Day and night sides of Earth at the instant of the December 2014 full moon (December 6 at 12:27 Universal Time). The shadow line running through North America depicts sunrise on December 6. The shadow line going through far-northern Europe and Asia represents sunset on December 6. Image credit: Earth and Moon Viewer
Some people may wonder why we are presenting information about the full moon today – on December 5, 2014 – given that many calendar will give December 6 as the full moon date.
It’s because, as seen from North America, the moon reaches the crest of its full phase during the night tonight – the night of December 5-6.
At North American time zones, the moon turns precisely full – resides 180o from the sun in ecliptic longitude – at 7:27 a.m. EST, 6:27 a.m. CST, 5:27 a.m. MST or 4:27 a.m. PST.
In other words, the full moon happens before sunrise December 6, 2014 for the most of North America. See the worldwide map above.
Although the full moon occurs at the same instant worldwide – at 12:27 Universal Time on December 6 – the hour by the clock differs by time zone. For the most of Asia, all of Australia and New Zealand, the moon turns full after sunset December 6. For the most of North America, the moon turns full before sunrise December 6.
For all of us across Earth, the moon will appear plenty full for the few nights, centered on the exact time of full moon. As seen by us in the United States, the moon’s disk is a whopping 98.8% illuminated by sunshine one day before, and one day after, the moon turns precisely full on December 6.
Bottom line: In North America, we’ll call the December 5, 2014 full moon the Long Night Moon, Cold Moon or Moon before Yule. Watch as the full moon shines all night long, starting at sunset on December 5. As nocturnal as an owl, tonight’s full moon will stay up from dusk until dawn and will sleep in during the day.
Donate: Your support means the world to us
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/12y9sk3
Tonight, watch for the full moon, which we in the Northern Hemisphere call the Long Night Moon, Cold Moon or Moon before Yule. Watch as the full moon shines all night long, starting at sunset on December 5, 2014. The full moon, our nocturnal sun, stays out throughout the night, and then sleeps in during the day.
The full moon shines in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull, not far from the constellation’s brightest star, Aldebaran. See chart above. However, this star may be hard to see in the full moon’s glare. Six months from now – in June – it’ll be the sun that shines in front of Taurus the Bull, and which obscures our view of the star Aldebaran.
The December full moon, like the June sun, climbs up high as seen from the Northern Hemisphere sky. That’s another reason for the name Long Night Moon. The full moon nearest the winter solstice travels a high path across the sky and so stays in the sky a long time.
From the Southern Hemisphere, where the days are long and the nights are short, perhaps we could call the December full moon the Short Night Moon. After all, it’s summer in that hemisphere now, and nights are short. From the Southern Hemisphere, the December full moon hangs low, mimicking that hemisphere’s June sun.
From either hemisphere, tonight’s full moon rises in the east around sunset, climbs highest for the night around midnight and sets in the west around sunrise.
Wherever you may live worldwide, watch for tonight’s moon to light up the nighttime from dusk until dawn.
EarthSky lunar calendars make great gifts for astronomy-minded friends and family.
Day and night sides of Earth at instant of December 2014 full moon
Day and night sides of Earth at the instant of the December 2014 full moon (December 6 at 12:27 Universal Time). The shadow line running through North America depicts sunrise on December 6. The shadow line going through far-northern Europe and Asia represents sunset on December 6. Image credit: Earth and Moon Viewer
Some people may wonder why we are presenting information about the full moon today – on December 5, 2014 – given that many calendar will give December 6 as the full moon date.
It’s because, as seen from North America, the moon reaches the crest of its full phase during the night tonight – the night of December 5-6.
At North American time zones, the moon turns precisely full – resides 180o from the sun in ecliptic longitude – at 7:27 a.m. EST, 6:27 a.m. CST, 5:27 a.m. MST or 4:27 a.m. PST.
In other words, the full moon happens before sunrise December 6, 2014 for the most of North America. See the worldwide map above.
Although the full moon occurs at the same instant worldwide – at 12:27 Universal Time on December 6 – the hour by the clock differs by time zone. For the most of Asia, all of Australia and New Zealand, the moon turns full after sunset December 6. For the most of North America, the moon turns full before sunrise December 6.
For all of us across Earth, the moon will appear plenty full for the few nights, centered on the exact time of full moon. As seen by us in the United States, the moon’s disk is a whopping 98.8% illuminated by sunshine one day before, and one day after, the moon turns precisely full on December 6.
Bottom line: In North America, we’ll call the December 5, 2014 full moon the Long Night Moon, Cold Moon or Moon before Yule. Watch as the full moon shines all night long, starting at sunset on December 5. As nocturnal as an owl, tonight’s full moon will stay up from dusk until dawn and will sleep in during the day.
Donate: Your support means the world to us
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/12y9sk3
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