When you can observe the last full moon of the year

1. Home page
2. To know

Stand: December 12, 2024, 7:06 p.m

Von: Tanja Banner

PressSplit

The last full moon of 2024 is scheduled for mid-December. Accompanied by Jupiter and shooting stars, it promises a great sight.

Munich – Before the year 2024 comes to an end, there is one more heavenly highlight ahead: the last full moon of the year. The full moon has already been in the sky eleven times this year, and in mid-December the twelfth full moon will be visible in the sky all night long. In cloudless weather, it is recommended to take a look at the moon and its surroundings, as it is accompanied by several fascinating celestial bodies in December.

December’s full moon appears in the sky on the third Advent

For everyone who wants to observe the December full moon, the third Advent, December 15th, is an important date. On this day, the moon reaches full moon position at 10:01 a.m., meaning its Earth-facing side is fully illuminated by the sun. However, this is not initially visible because the moon does not rise until a few hours later.

Around 4 p.m. (the exact time may vary depending on your location), the full moon rises above the horizon in the northeast and rises higher and higher in the sky as the evening and night progress. It won’t sink again until around 10 a.m. the next morning.

September’s full moon is in an interesting region of the sky

But it’s not just the full moon itself that’s worth seeing – its surroundings also offer an impressive sight: slightly to the right above the full moon you can see a “bright star” – it’s the gas giant Jupiter. This is located in the constellation Taurus, which offers another eye-catcher visible to the naked eye with the open star cluster of the Pleiades.

If you look towards the southwest in the early evening, you can see the second “bright star”, which is actually a planet. It is Venus, the brightest planet in our sky. But neither Jupiter nor Venus can steal the show from the full moon – it shines much brighter than the bright planets. Even a long-awaited “new star” in the sky cannot change this, as it has not yet appeared to date.

Light from the December full moon obscures the shooting stars of the Geminids

If you watch the sky the night before the full moon, you could, with a bit of luck, see some shooting stars: The Geminids, the most active stream of shooting stars of the year, reach their maximum on the day before the full moon. This is a very bad time: the light of the almost full moon outshines most shooting stars. Nevertheless, you could perhaps see one or two shooting stars flitting across the sky – even on December 15th, the day of the full moon. Geminid activity will continue until December 20th.

The full moon in December is called the “Julmond” or “cold moon”

Like every month, the full moon in December has several names. The best known is probably “Julmond”. This Old German name is derived from “Julfest”, the Germanic festival celebrating the winter solstice. The Algonquian Native Americans gave the moons names that suited the season. In December the full moon has the appropriate name “cold moon”. The December full moon is sometimes called the “frost moon”. (tab)