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The last full moon of 2020, also known as the Cold Moon, rises behind the snowy San Gabriel … [+]
AFP via Getty Images
Did you see the thirteenth and final full moon of 2020 light up the night skies this Christmas week?
As the closest full moon to the December solstice, it had the name “Long Nights Moon” in North America, as well as the more seasonal name “Cold Moon.” However, in Europe this full moon is also known as the “Moon after Yule” because it occurs after Christmas Day.
The last full moon of 2020 also known as the “Cold Moon” rises in central New York, United States, on … [+]
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Officially full at exactly 03:29 Universal Time on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, the Full Moon occurred the day before for North America: 10:29 p.m. EST and 7:29 p.m. PST on Tuesday, December 29, 2020.
The full Cold Moon rises next to the Divine Savior of the World monument on December 29, 2020 in San … [+]
fake images
The full “Cold Moon”, the thirteenth and final Full Moon of 2020, came just days after a fabulously rare “grand conjunction” of planets just before Christmas that some called the “Christmas Star”, and just a couple of weeks after the Moon. caused a spectacular total solar eclipse.
Why 13 full moons in a year? A lunar year lasts 354 days. That’s a cycle of 12 orbits of the Moon, with 29 days between full moons. The first full Moon of 2020 was the “Wolf Moon” on January 10, 2020, and exactly 354 days later the “Cold Moon” occurred.
The cold full moon rises behind the EdgeNYC outdoor observation deck in New York City in December … [+]
fake images
Although the full “Cold Moon” was the last of 2020, it was actually the first of the new season. The astronomical seasons are considered to end and begin on the dates of the equinoxes and solstices. Since the solstice occurred on December 21, 2020, the same day as the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, the full “Cold Moon” was the first winter full Moon.
We know that the Moon is gray, so why do some of these photos show that the entire “Cold Moon” is orange? When viewed close to the horizon, the full Moon is not only less bright than when high in the sky, it is also a reddish-orange color that gradually turns pale yellow.
The last full moon of 2020 also known as the “Cold Moon” rises behind the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, … [+]
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The physics is the same that explains why sunsets are orange. When we look at the moonrise, we are looking at it close to the horizon, so we are looking through much of Earth’s atmosphere. Light with short wavelengths, such as blue, hits a lot of oxygen and nitrogen particles and is therefore absorbed and scattered (that’s why the sky is blue).
The last full moon of 2020 also known as the “Cold Moon” rises behind the One Tower building in New York … [+]
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Colors with longer wavelengths, such as orange, hit fewer particles and are therefore not as easily absorbed. Therefore, the redder end of the color spectrum dominates in the light that reaches our eyes.
The last full moon of 2020 also known as the “Cold Moon” rises in central New York, United States, on … [+]
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The next full moon will be the “Wolf Moon”, also called “Snow Moon” and “Ice Moon”, and will occur on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
In 2021, the Moon will be “full” 12 times, one of them a “Blue Fruit Moon” on August 22. It will cause two dramatic solar eclipses: a “ring of fire” eclipse in Canada on June 10, 2021 and a total solar eclipse in Antarctica on December 4, 2021, as well as a pair of lunar eclipses.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
