Rare 'cold moon' set to rise for last time until 2043
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The last full moon of the year will rise overnight in a rare “major lunar standstill” amid a dazzling meteor shower.
The “cold moon” - a phenomenon that happens every 18.6 years - will rise at 3.20pm (GMT) on Sunday and set at 9.44am (GMT) on Monday.
It will shine alongside the Geminid meteor shower, which peaked between 13 and 14 December but ends on 20 December.
The lunar spectacle will be in the constellation Taurus, surrounded by some of the night sky’s brightest stars and the planet Jupiter.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud told The Independent the moonrise would be most visible in the far north of Scotland, including the Shetland and Orkney islands.
However, a lot of cloud is forecast for much of England and Wales so it would be a “push” to see it, Mr Stroud added.
The cold moon will rise and set not just at its most northern points of the year, but of any point in nearly two decades.
This is because, as timeanddate.com explained, “the moon’s tilted orbit slowly gyrates, in a similar way to a gently wobbling gyroscope or spinning top.”
The phenomenon, called the “lunar precession,” occurs on a cycle that repeats every 18.6 years - meaning it will next happen in 2043.
This month’s full moon will coincide with an approximately two-year period of the cycle, known as “major lunar standstill,” when the moonrise and moonset positions are more extreme due to the moon’s wobble.
On Saturday morning, the Geminid meteor shower was visible with streaks of white spotted from Northumberland to Somerset.
Striking photos from keen stargazers revealed the beautiful celestial scene, which will return to British skies on Saturday night into Sunday.
The shower - one of the most active of the year - is currently peaking and stargazers are seizing the opportunity to potentially witness dozens of shooting stars in the space of just hours.
Known as a “meteor storm” due to the intensity of the shower, the Geminids are one of the “most spectacular meteor showers of the year”, physics research fellow Dr Minjae Kim at the University of Warwick said.
