“Cold moon” to light sky on Christmas Day

CEBU, Philippines - Aside from parties and gifts, Filipinos have something to look forward to on Christmas day.

 According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a full moon will light up the skies on December 25 for the first time since 1977 or about 38 years ago. The moon will reach its peak size at 6:11 a.m. ET (Eastern Time) or 11:12 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated).

 Engineer Oscar Tabada, Director of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration-Visayas, confirmed that the “light of the brilliant moon” may be seen in Cebu starting at 5:35 p.m. on Friday next week.

 “It will brighten up the whole night on Christmas,” he said.

 Tabada said it would be a “perfect” night to have a glimpse of the Christmas full moon since the weather is expected to be “very fine” on this night.

 “Partly cloudy, which means we will have clear sky and good weather so perti gyod ning nindota tan-awon,” he said.

 Christmas full moon is usually referred to as the “cold moon” because of the cold weather experienced during December. It will be the last astronomical spectacle for this year.

 Farmer’s Almanac defines it as Full Long Nights Moon or the Moon before Yule. This is because December nights are at “their longest and darkest” and during this month “the winter cold fastens its grip.”

 It added that throughout December, the moon is above the horizon for a long time and the full moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it’s opposite a low sun.

 This phenomenon won’t happen again until 2034 and it will peak at 3:54 a.m.

 The 21st century would showcase a total of five Christmas full moons, including in 2053, 2072 and 2091.

In the 20th century, only three Christmas full moons occurred in 1901, 1920 and 1977. The moon occurred in 1806, 1825 and 1863 during the 19th century.  (FREEMAN)