How the moon will appear on Christmas, 2015. (Photo : NASA/Goddard/Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter)
Last Christmas night, a full moon shines bright for the first time in almost 40 years which will be a dazzling surprise for those enjoying the holidays in the northeastern parts of the United States since there is almost no chance of snow.
The last Christmas full moon occurred in 1977 where this rare lunar event will not happen again until 2034 says NASA. The full moon revealed itself last Christmas Eve of 1977 and this December's full moon will be the last one of the year, which is also known as the Full Cold Moon since it appears during the start of winter. The full moon's peak shines at 6:11 A.M. EST of Christmas day.
According to John Keller of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, this is a great opportunity to look at the moon and remember how our moon is more than just Earth's natural satellite. The geological timeline of Earth and the moon both have the same evolutionary beginnings, which mean that Earth would be a dramatically different planet if there is no moon.
Even if you are too busy with holiday plans, take a moment to step outside and gaze towards the clear night sky as it will be one glorious view. If not, the Slooh Community Observatory can provide live feeds of the Christmas full moon from its observatory located in the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands beginning 7 P.M. EST on Thursday until midnight.
Apart from this, Slooh also featured the Christmas Comet on Christmas Eve as it passes closely around the sun which is also known as Comet Catalina (C/2013 US10) which will be visible until the next coming weeks in the early morning.
