Christmastime Cold Moon: When To See 2023’s Last Full Moon In RI

RHODE ISLAND — December’s full moon is arriving almost in time for Christmas, but it’ll be bright enough on Christmas Eve that you can spin a believable story with your kids about Santa using the bright orb to guide his sleigh to houses all over Rhode Island and the world.

December’s full moon rises around sunset on Christmas, as well as on Dec. 26-27. It reaches peak illumination at 7:33 p.m. on the 26th.

AccuWeather's forecast for Rhode Island calls for cloudy skies on Dec. 26, but hopefully there are not too many to get in the way of the celestial show.

You’ll also be able to see three planets without the aid of binoculars or a telescope, although not all of them at the same time. Saturn can be seen in the south-southwest sky until it sets at 9:18 pm., and Jupiter can be seen in the southeast sky until it sets around 2:37 a.m. Venus is visible from about 4:14 a.m. until sunrise at 7:19 a.m., according to Space.

The December full moon is known as the cold moon, a Mohawk name to describe what are typically frigid temperatures this time of year, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Another name for the December full moon is the long night moon, a moniker given by the Mohicans because it rises so close to the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.

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December’s full moon shines brightly over the horizon for longer than most full moons, The Almanac noted.

Other names also reference the cold and snow. The Cree also called December’s full moon the drift clearing moon, the frost exploding trees moon and the hoar frost moon. The Ogalala called it the moon of the popping trees, the Haida and Cherokee tribes called it the snow moon, and the Western Abenaki tribe called it the winter maker moon, according to The Almanac.

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