Using the online observatory Slooh, astronomers at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands will give lucky stargazers a full-on chance to see the first Christmas moon in the sky in almost 40 years.
For the uninitiated, a "Christmas moon" is the on-the-nose descriptor of a full moon that occurs on Christmas. Despite the seemingly commonplace happenstance of the event, a full moon on Christmas hasn't occurred since 1977. In addition to this, the 2015 Christmas moon will also be the last full moon of the year, rendering it a "Full Cold Moon," the term used for the first winter moon of the season. It will reach its peak around 6:11 a.m. EST on Dec. 25.
The Christmas Moon/Full Cold Moon (Full Cold Christmas Moon?) will not be the only cosmological event occurring on Dec. 24: viewers will also be able to see a rare comet make its trek across the ether. The Christmas Comet — otherwise known as Catalina's Comet — will also be making an appearance around 9 p.m. PST. Unlike the moniker of the Christmas moon, Catalina's nickname has a little more of a backstory: as CNET pointed out, some historians believe that the Star of Bethlehem from the Christmas story was actually — you guessed it — a comet.
In honor of the rare occasion, NASA took to its blog to comment on the special event. The next Christmas full moon will take place in 2034, according to NASA.
"As we look at the moon on such an occasion, it's worth remembering that the moon is more than just a celestial neighbor," said John Keller, NASA's project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been surveilling the moon since its launch in 2009.
"The geologic history of the moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that the Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the moon," he added.
You can check out the Christmas moon in action via the Slooh online observatory beginning at 7 p.m. EST on Dec. 24. The Christmas Comet, Catalina's comet, is slated to make an appearance just before midnight EST.
Via: CNET
Source: Slooh
