by The last full moon of 2023 has risen and is set above the Earth in the form of a December named “Cold Moon”.
With the full moon on Tuesday (December 26), stargazers and astrophotographers weren’t going to let obstacles like a Christmas Day hangover – or the frigid temperatures of a cold Christmas night – stop them from some truly inspiring images of the Catching a Cold Moon. from around the globe.
Here are some of those December full moon images that have been shared online and on social media, serving as a festive feast for the eyes.
Related: Full moon calendar 2023: When to see the next full moon
While all of the following Cold Moon images are amazing, one December full moon image is out of this world. Captured from Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday (December 25), the picture not only shows the moon in stunning detail, but also features the tiny shadow of China’s Tiangong space station as it crosses the lunar surface.
Closer to home, the Cold Moon took on an incredibly warm orange/red color, and appeared enormous as it rose behind the San Mateo Bridge across California’s San Francisco Bay.
December’s Christmas Moon looked cooler with a more familiar yellow glimmer, when it was seen rising behind the 100-story-tall EdgeNYC observation deck in New York City in an image taken from nearby New Jersey.
Manhattan Bird Alert shared a rather chilling image of the Cold Moon on X (formerly Twitter), shining frostily through winter fog and lighting up the sky above Central Park, also in New York City.
The Cold Moon was also fogged up in an image of the Empire State Building and downtown Manhattan by X user Gary Hershorn, taken on Tuesday evening.
The fog and clouds were almost too much in Spokane, Washington, to allow X user Young Kwak to capture an image of the full moon. The photographer was able to catch a glimpse of the Cold Moon before it disappeared behind cloud cover.
Also on X, self-described astronomy lover and photographer Jennifer Rose Lane shared some incredible images of the Cold Christmas Moon from West Virginia.
In the United Kingdom, Tuesday was the traditional Boxing Day bank holiday. But that hasn’t stopped sky watchers in England, Scotland, Wales and northern Ireland from capturing incredible images of the full moon.
The moon was seen with a foreboding red glow over one of England’s most famous landmarks, Stonehenge in Wiltshire, in an image shared by the monument on X life.
In Scotland, the Cold Moon was captured as it appears in the calm waters of Loch Liban nature reserve, located in Kinross.
The December full moon was imaged in daylight as it rose behind a hill occupied by the castle and village of Rocca Calascio in Calascio, Italy, with the face of the moon visible in striking detail.
In Istanbul, Turkey, the Cold Moon was visible as it rose over an important cultural and religious site: the magnificent architecture of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.
The Cold Moon was also captured glimmering over Ninova in Mosul, Iraq.
If you want to capture the next fully illuminated moon face for yourself with these incredible full moon images, you won’t have to wait too long. The next full moon – and the first full moon of the coming year – is the Wolf Moon, which will rise on January 25, 2024.
TOP TOP PICK:
Looking for a telescope to see the moon? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top choice in our best beginners telescope guide.
If you want to take a closer look at the moon after seeing these incredible photos, our guides to the best telescopes and binoculars are a great place to start.
And whether you’re looking to image the moon or just explore the night sky in general, check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well as our recommendations for the best astrophotography cameras and lenses for astrophotography.
Note to the Editor: If you read an image of the Cold Moon and want to share it space.comreaders, send your photo(s), your comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
