Mark your calendars for the next Full Cold Moon, the full moon that occurs every year in December.
A full moon occurs when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, so the moon looks completely illuminated. It happens about once a month or 29.53 days on average, also called a synodic month.
When is the next Cold Moon?
The next Full Cold Moon will be on Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 4:02 am EST. It will be the last full moon of Autumn and will be the full moon in Gemini.
When was the last Cold Moon?
The last Full Cold Moon was on Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 7:33 pm EST. It was the first full moon of Winter and the Full Moon in Cancer. The December New Moon was the start of the lunar cycle for the December 26 Full Moon.
Why the December Full Moon is called the Full Cold Moon
The Full Cold Moon is one of the nicknames for the full moon that occurs in December. The name fits the month well given how the temperatures get colder with the official start of Winter. While you may not have guessed it, the name is probably not a surprise.
Aside from the Full Cold Moon, another nickname for the December Full Moon is the Long Nights Moon, another equally fitting given December has the shortest day of the year.
A final nickname for the full moon is the Oak Moon.
Lunar Eclipses
- December 6, 1900: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 7, 1908: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 28, 1917: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 17, 1918: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 19, 1926: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 8, 1927: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 27, 1936: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 29, 1944: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 18, 1945: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 8, 1946: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 30, 1963: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 18, 1964: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 8, 1965: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 9, 1973: Partial Lunar Eclipse
- December 30, 1982: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 19, 1983: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 21, 1991: Partial Lunar Eclipse
- December 9, 1992: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 30, 2001: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 21, 2010: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 10, 2011: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 20, 2029: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 9, 2030: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 11, 2038: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 20, 2048: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 21, 2056: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 10, 2057: Partial Lunar Eclipse
- December 22, 2075: Partial Lunar Eclipse
- December 10, 2076: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 1, 2085: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- December 21, 2094: Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)
- December 11, 2095: Partial Lunar Eclipse