Your calendar probably says tomorrow (Friday, December 28) is the date for the last full moon of 2012. But, for North America, the full moon comes before sunrise tomorrow. So, for us, the moon is closer to full tonight than tomorrow night. Need the exact time of full moon? It’s Friday, December 28 at 10:21 UTC (5:21 a.m. EST, 4:21 a.m. CST, 3:21 a.m. MST and 2:21 a.m. PST). Seeing a bright object in the moon’s vicinity? It’s Jupiter.
You might have noticed that the moon was closer to Jupiter yesterday, on December 26, and closer yet on December 25. As always, the moon moves eastward in front of the backdrop stars (and planets) as its orbits our planet Earth. That eastward motion of the moon in orbit causes the moon to moves eastward on our sky’s dome from night to night.
Because this is the closest full moon to the December solstice, this moon carries the name Long Night Moon. That name works for the Northern Hemisphere, where the daylight is fleeting now, while the nighttime is long-lasting. In the Southern Hemisphere – where the days are long and the nights are short – perhaps we could call the closest full moon to the December solstice the Short Night Moon.
The full moon – as always – mimics the sun’s path for some six months hence. Watch tonight as the moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise tomorrow. Around midnight, the moon climbs highest up for the night, mimicking the position of the noonday June solstice sun.
Given clear skies, tropical and temperate regions from all around the world will see the moon shining from dusk until dawn tonight. In the Northern Hemisphere, the moon’s path across the sky tonight will resemble that of the high-flying summer solstice sun. In the Southern Hemisphere, the moon’s path will follow the low arc of the sun on the winter solstice.
North of the Arctic Circle, there is no sunrise right now because the sun stays below the horizon. But the closest full moon to the December solstice stays out all night long at these far northern latitudes, playacting as the midnight sun of summer.
South of the Antarctic Circle, the sun stays out for 24 hours around the clock. However, the closest full moon to the December solstice simulates the winter sun in the Southern Hemisphere. For that reason, this December full moon won’t rise above the horizon at these far southern latitudes.
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