Christmastime Cold Moon: When To See 2023?s Last Full Moon In MD

MARYLAND ? December?s full moon arrived almost in time for Christmas, rising around sunset on Monday, as well as on Dec. 26-27 in Maryland. It reaches peak illumination at 7:33 p.m. Eastern Time on the 26th.

The National Weather Service forecast for Maryland calls for mostly cloudy skies on Dec. 26.

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. ET, 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.