December 4: Full Cold Moon
December's full moon has a clear and simple name. Most of the ancient full moon names are related to the low temperatures and darkness at this time of year—the Celts called it the Cold Moon or the Full Cold Moon. The Old English and Anglo-Saxon names of the December Full Moon are the Moon Before Yule and the Long Night Moon. Both names refer to the winter solstice, and the ancient celebration of Yule. Another Celtic name is the Oak Moon. Other names that allude to the cold and snow include Drift Clearing Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Trees Moon (Cree), Moon of the Popping Trees (Oglala), Hoar Frost Moon (Cree), Snow Moon (Haida, Cherokee), and Winter Maker Moon (Western Abenaki). Other names include Moon When the Deer Shed Their [Antlers] (Dakota) and Little Spirit Moon (Anishinaabe).
Image courtesy of Old Farmer's Almanac
December 13–14: Geminid Meteor Shower
The famous Geminids are often considered the best meteor shower of the year. On the nights of December 13–14, you could see up to 120 meteors per hour streaking across the sky. The Moon will be a thin crescent at this time, so its light won’t interfere much—making it an excellent year to watch. Geminids are slower and brighter than many other meteor showers, giving you more time to enjoy each meteor. The best time to view is after 8 p.m., with peak activity around midnight to pre-dawn. Meteors occur when the Earth rushes through a stream of dust and debris left behind by a passing comet. Interestingly, Geminid meteors didn’t seem to be associated with a comet until recently. The Geminid meteor shower was thought to be caused by asteroid 3200 Phaethon, first detected by NASA in 1983. The odd part of this is that asteroids don’t disintegrate like comets do to produce meteor showers. Phaethon has, therefore, been reclassified as an extinct comet that has lost its outer covering. This helps explain why the Geminids are so bright. They’re little pieces of mostly rocky material that take longer to burn up as they fall into the atmosphere, whereas the softer, icier debris from comets causes most meteor showers.
Image courtesy of NASA
December 21: Winter Solstice
The word 'solstice' comes from the Latin 'sol', meaning 'sun', and 'sistere' - to 'stand still'. The winter solstice is the moment the Sun appears to stand still, directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, the most southerly latitude it reaches annually. This gives the southern hemisphere its longest day of the year with the Sun reaching its highest angle in the sky. It leaves the northern hemisphere with less sunlight and consequently its maximum amount of darkness. We have solstices because the Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees, which affects which part of the planet's surface the sun is directly overhead at any given time. Thankfully, after we reach the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and longer again until we reach the summer solstice—the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. Think of it this way: Although the winter solstice means the start of winter, it also means the return of more sunlight. It only gets brighter from here!
Image courtesy of the National Park Service
Report abuse