The full December moon is called the Cold Moon. That seems a little obvious, at least here in the north. Winter is generally well underway by December. But this year, that’s not the case. We had a little dusting of snow the other night, but it melted quickly. On December 2nd, the day of the full moon, the temperature was up at 40° F (5° C) at 11:00 AM as measured in a shaded area out of the sun. And it was a pleasant, sunny day. Just a little blip in routine seasonal variation? Or a symptom of something more frightening?
This December will have two full moons. The second occurs on December 31st, New Year’s Eve! That will be a cool way to start 2010. Blue moons are properly said to occur when there are 4 full moons in a season. By this measure, the next blue moon is November 21st, 2010. However, it is also commonplace to call the second moon in a calendar month a blue moon. So, if you’ve got something you only get around to once in a blue moon, get ready because that day is coming soon!
I particularly love that last picture. Is it some interesting refraction that makes it look like there are a whole bunch of full moons? And the clouds are eerie and other-worldly, too.
Hi Holly,
It’s kinda neat, isn’t it? The little circle near the top of the picture is the actual moon. I think the other spots may have been condensation when I first went outside. I have no idea what caused the cloud effect though. I thought it looked like the Spirit of Winter dancing in the moonlight. More prosaically, it could be my breathe in the cool night air.
Thanks for visiting.