Bhubaneswar: The last lunar event of the 2020 i.e. the cold moon day will appear in the night sky December29-30. While it will appear December 29 night in other countries, in India, skygazers will get to witness the final full moon or Cold Moon December 30.
The ‘Cold Moon’ is the last full moon of the year, or better known as the full moon of December.
It is also called the ‘Long Nights Moon’ in the US as it falls near the winter solstice – the longest night of the year. Cold Moon occurs right after Christmas day, also called the ‘Moon After Yule’ in Europe. This spectacle comes after skywatchers witnessed the ‘Christmas Star’ and the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn just before Christmas.
Cold Moon 2020 – Date and time
People in India can witness the Cold Moon properly December 30 and the best time to watch this is at 8:58 PM. In North America, the full moon will be visible December 29. The full Moon will appear on the eastern horizon about 15-20 minutes after the moonrise time.
Reason behind full moon’s orange hue:
At the time of moonrise, the reflected sunlight is seen by the observer on Earth. This sunlight reaches the observer after passing through the Earth’s atmosphere. What actually happens is that light towards the blue end of the spectrum scatters on particles due to shorter wavelengths. On the other hand, light towards the red end of the spectrum travels through the atmosphere without much scattering because of longer wavelengths. As a result of this, moonrise appears to be bright orange, turning to a pale yellow as it rises, then finally to a bright white orb.
PNN
