The final weeks of the calendar year will include the last full moon phase of 2024 reaching peak illumination on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:02 a.m. CST.
This month’s full moon is traditionally called the “Cold Moon,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the cold season led Native Americans and early settlers to describe this moon as signaling the changing season and colder weather patterns, the report adds that ” each full moon name was traditionally known as a time to prepare for winter’s stronghold, and was traditionally applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not solely to the full moon.”
This month’s full moon has also been named the Long Nights Moon, and the Moon before Yule, according to Time and Date, which derived from the Old English and Anglo-Saxon traditions, and were given to this month’s full moon phase to align with the winter solstice, and the ancient celebration of Yule.
To wrap the year, this month also has two new moons in one calendar month, a phenomenon that typically happens only once every two to three years and is called a “Black Moon,” according to the 2024 lunar calendar. On the first day of December the first new moon phase occurred and this month’s second new moon is on Monday, Dec. 30, at approximately 4:26 p.m. CST.
After these final lunar phases of the year, and while looking ahead the new year will kick off with the Quadrantid meteor shower, expected to peak on Jan. 3, 2025, the American Meteor Society reports, with the moon cooperating for good viewing.
As the new year of 2025 begins, the new moon phase will be just 11% illuminated during the peak time forecast for the meteor shower’s activity. The low moonlight will create favorable conditions for night viewing, the report adds. While the Quadrantids are less known for persistent meteor trails, they are recognized for producing bright, dramatic fireballs.