A Cold Moon and 3 bright planets? Here’s how to watch this lunar Christmas event in WA
The Cold Moon will rise high in the Washington sky the day after Christmas, illuminating the city in its chilly glow for over 16 hours.
No, the moon isn’t especially chilly this time of the year, nor is it making it any colder down on Earth. But it is the last full moon of 2023 and has a higher trajectory than most other full moons, meaning it’ll stay in the sky longer than usual.
As an added bonus, this year’s Cold Moon will be accompanied by three planets visible to the naked eye, and the moon itself will sit in one of the sky’s brightest constellations.
Here’s what you need to know about Cold Moons, what makes them unique, and the exact time this year’s Cold Moon will appear in Washington.
When can I see the Cold Moon?
Although this year’s Cold Moon will reach peak illumination at 4:33 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday, according to the Farmers’ Almanac, you don’t have to wait until then to see the natural phenomenon. Like any other full moon, the Cold Moon is visible from around sunset until sunrise.
The moon should start to peek over the horizon just before sunset, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. The moon will rise for Puget Sound at 3:48 p.m. Tuesday and set at 8:28 a.m. Wednesday, while Eastern Washington, such as the Tri-Cities, will see the moon rise at 3:41 p.m. Tuesday and set at 7:54 a.m. Wednesday.
But there’s a chance that clouds will obscure the view from Washingtonians.
The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies across the state and chances of rain in western Washington for the likes of Bellingham, Tacoma and Olympia. The Weather Service considers “mostly cloudy” as clouds that cover at least three-quarters of the sky but not the whole sky.
What planets will be viewable?
This year’s Cold Moon will also coincide with Saturn, Jupiter and Venus all visible in the night sky, according to Space.com.
Saturn will be visible by looking southwest shortly after the sun sets and will remain in the sky until shortly after 9 p.m., when it will also set below the horizon.
Jupiter will be visible in the southeast and in the night sky for much longer. The gas giant will also be viewable shortly after sunset but remain visible until about 2:30 a.m. Both Jupiter and Saturn will be easy to see because they’ll appear as bright and steady lights in the sky, as opposed to stars that seem to twinkle.
Venus will then rise in the early hours of Wednesday morning, at approximately 4:41 a.m., according to Space.com. Venus is so bright that it’ll still be visible in the minutes following sunrise when the sun’s light has drowned out other stars.
The moon’s background stars change over the course of the night, but for much of the evening — including moonrise — it’ll be within the constellation Gemini. Also known as the Twins, Gemini has two extremely bright stars called Castor and Pollux; the moon will move closer toward Castor throughout the night.
What does Cold Moon mean?
Moon names have been passed down through generations of Native Americans, who traditionally used the month’s moon as a calendar of the seasons.
December’s full moon is commonly called the Cold Moon, a nod to the month’s chilling temperatures. Here are a few less popular alternative names for December moons:
Drift clearing moon
Frost exploding trees moon
Moon of the popping trees
Hoar frost moon
Snow moon
Winter maker moon
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This full moon is also called the long night moon because it’s set to rise a few nights after the longest nights of the year. The Winter Solstice occurs on Dec. 21 every year and marks the day with the least daylight and when the sun is set for the most time.
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 1:22 PM.
