Courtesy of Greg Redfern

Courtesy of Greg Redfern

Clouds were prevalent for the peak of the Geminid meteor shower on Friday evening, and the forecast calls for clouds to persist over the next few days.

These clouds actually created an incredible lunar halo that was widespread in the D.C. area — and depending on cloud cover, there could be a repeat on Saturday evening.

Saturday’s cold full moon will rise on the northeastern horizon around 4 p.m. Eastern time. It will be fully lit by 4:02 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday morning. Oh, and that really bright “star” to the right of the moon will be the planet Jupiter.

What a sight it would be if the sky was clear and there was snow on the ground to catch all the glorious moonlight – a true winter wonderland we could enjoy!

This final full moon of 2024 is special because a rare cycle is taking place, as described by Griffith Observatory:

“Our moon reaches the end points of its orbit around Earth every 18.6 years. We observe this when the moon rises and sets on the horizon at its northernmost and southernmost positions. On the evening of December 15th, we will watch the moon rise farther north than ever before. This occurs during the Great Lunar Standstill.”

The famous observatory will broadcast the rise of the cold full moon on YouTube between 8:03 and 8:38 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.

If you have a landmark near Sunday’s moonrise, take a photo or note the location. You’ll see next month’s full moon rising on the horizon to the left – towards the south – as well as every subsequent full moon until the summer solstice in June.

As you observe the sky the rest of this month, be sure to observe all five visible planets. As darkness falls after sunset, brilliant Venus is in the southwest, Saturn is high in the south and bright Jupiter is in the east, while Mars rises in the east at 8 p.m

Mercury will be low on the horizon in the southeast as daylight approaches – binoculars will be helpful in the search.

Keep following Greg Redfern Facebook, BlueSky and be daily blog to stay up to date with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.

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