December 20, 2024
The constellations may be old, but the person celebrating beneath them is gloriously new by cosmic standards.
The Long Night Moon
Birthday · December 20, 2024
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APOD published December 20, 2024. Credit: Giorgia Hofer. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
On the night of December 15, the Full Moon was bright. Known to some as the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon, it was the closest Full Moon to the northern winter solstice and the last Full Moon of 2024. This Full Moon was also at a major lunar standstill. A major lunar standstill is an extreme in the monthly north-south range of moonrise and moonset caused by the precession of the Moon's orbit over an 18.6 year cycle. As a result, the full lunar phase was near the Moon's northernmost moonrise (and moonset) along the horizon. December's Full Moon is rising in this stacked image, a composite of exposures recording the range of brightness visible to the eye on the northern winter night. Along with a colorful lunar corona and aircraft contrail this Long Night Moon shines in a cold sky above the rugged, snowy peaks of the Italian Dolomites.
Image credit: Giorgia Hofer