By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The last full moon of the year came and went on December 4. In addition to being the last, it was also one of the most spectacular moons of the year.
Each full moon is assigned a name and in this case, perhaps aptly named, this one was dubbed “The cold moon.”
The difference between and regular everyday run of the mill full moon and a super moon is the proximity to the Earth as the moon makes its monthly journey around earth. The scientific definition of a super moon is when a full moon coincides with the moons Perigee orbital position. In layman’s terms, this means that the moon is closer to Earth than most other orbits and therefore appears larger in the night sky.
How much closer — about 13,000 miles closer. As a result of this closer orbit, the moon can appear 14 percent larger to the naked eye and approximately 30 percent brighter. To amplify the effects even more, the super moon appears even larger as it rises over the horizon. The Earth’s atmosphere acts as a defacto magnifying glass when the moon is low on the horizon thereby giving the moon the exaggerated look commonly seen in photos.
While there is relatively little impact on the Earth during these low passes there are some differences that can be measured in tidal activity and circadian rhythms in animals and humans too.
There will be three super moons in 2026: January 3, November 24 and December 23.
