Last full moon of 2020 appears in the sky for 15 hours as stargazers look towards the heavens in final astronomical phenomenon of the year
- The final full moon of 2020 lit up the night sky on Tuesday evening across the world
- It is known as the 'Cold Moon' because it appears when winter begins in the northern hemisphere
- Clear skies across much of the country saw some spectacular photographs being taken of the celestial body
- This particular full moon is also known as called the 'Long Night Moon' or the 'Moon Before Yule'
- The last full moon of 2020 slips in between two year-end holidays of Christmas and New Year Stargazers were treated to a final astronomical sight of the year on Tuesday night as the last full moon of the 2020 rose into the night sky and shone down on the planet leading to some spectacular photographs being taken from coast to coast across the United States.
On the east coast of the U.S. the 'Cold Moon' reached peak illumination at 10:30pm ET and was in the sky for a full 15 hours until the early hours of Wednesday morning, making it the longest full moon of the year.
Photographers were able to capture the bright sight as the moon soared over the tops of mountains, was caught in between trees and grazed the top of sky scrapers.The nickname comes from the Native American tribe the Mohwaks and refers to the dropping temperatures in December that means winter has arrived.
The last full moon of 2020, also known as the Cold Moon, rises behind the snow-topped San Gabriel Mountains and the Los Angeles downtown skyline at sunset as seen from the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles
The moon rises behind the Empire State Building in New York City as the sun sets
A woman tries to take a picture of the full moon known as Cold Moon as it rises behind One World Trade Center, viewed from Jersey City, New Jersey
The gull moon rises behind people standing on the Edge, the outdoor observation deck in Manhattan, New York City
The last Full 'Cold Moon' of 2020 is pictured in the sky in Philadelphia
The moon rises over the US Capitol Dome at sunset in Washington, D.C.
The moon rises between One Vanderbilt and the Empire State Building in New York City
The 'Cold Moon' will rose out of the northeastern with peak illumination at 10:30pm ET (3:30am GMT) on Tuesday evening. Pictured is how the full moon appeared in St. Petersburg, Russia
The full moon is seen rising behind electricity pylons in Ankara, Turkey on Tuesday
The full moon is seen in the center of a monument in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday
The full moon rises over Turkish capital Ankara on December 29
Crows are silhouetted against the rising moon as they perch on a wire in Kansas City, Missouri
The moon rises over the US Capitol Dome at sunset in the nation's capital, Washington D.C.
This picture taken on December 29, 2020, shows the moon rising behind the sculpture of the God of Sea, Peseidon at the city of Corinth, Greece
The moon shines behind a chapel in Oberstdorf, Germany on Tuesday night
NASA's Gordon Johnston wrote in a recent blog post: 'This year moonlight will interfere with viewing the annual Quadrantid meteor shower, expected to be active from 28 December, 2020, through 12 January 2021, peaking on the morning of 3 January 2021.'
The last full moon of the year has a variety of names, depending on where people were viewing the sight.
It is sometimes referred to as the Full Long Night's Moon, which refers to 'the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the moon is above the horizon for a long time,' according to the Farmer's Almanac.
'The midwinter full moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low sun.'
The full moon easily competes with some of the bright lights of the Financial District in New York City
People watch as the full moon rises over snow covered mountains, behind downtown Los Angeles
Photographers set their equipment as they are waiting to capture the moon rising over snow covered mountains, behind the downtown Los Angeles skyline at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles on Tuesday
The moon rises in the eastern sky over the mountains that border Los Angeles
The moon is pictured passing by the antenna located at the top of One World Trade Center in New York on Tuesday night
The rising full moon passes behind the Martin Luther King Memorial and the Washington Monument on Tuesday evening
The full moon rises over the Panamericano Building in Montevideo, Uruguay on Tuesday
The skyline of Manhattan can be seen with the final full moon of the year shining brightly
The nickname comes from the Native American tribe the Mohwaks and refers to the dropping temperatures in December that means winter has arrived. Pictured, the full moon hanging over Maryland
A 'Cold Moon' the last full moon of 2020 rises over the snow capped Curbar Edge, in the Peak District on Tuesday
The full Cold Moon rises next to Christmas lights in San Salvador, El Salvador. It marks the end of the decade with the arrival of the winter season into the northern hemisphere
The full Cold Moon rises next to an illuminated Christmas tree in San Salvador, El Salvador
Another nickname comes for European pagans who called it the Moon before Yule.
This full moon was a celebration of winter solstice that marks the start of winter.
In the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed, the full December moon is often called the Strawberry Moon, Honey Moon or Rose Moon.
Johnston notes that it could also be called the Chang'e Moon, following China's three successful lunar landers that launched around this time of year.
'These missions get their name from the Chinese goddess of the Moon, Chang'e, who lived on the Moon with her pet rabbit, Yutu,' Johnston writes.
'The Chang'e 3 lander and its companion Yutu rover launched on December 1 and landed on the Moon on December 14 2013.'
The full moon can be seen rising behind the buildings of the Financial District of Lower Mahattan
The last full moon of 2020 begins to dip below the clouds at sunrise on Lhoknga beach, Aceh province in Indonesia
A full moon appears at sunset over the town of Anguillara Sabazia, Lazio in Italy
The full moon is seen in Ankara, Turkey behind a Christmas tree on Tuesday night
The last full moon of 2020 rises behind the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City
The moon was in the sky for more than 15 hours from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, making it the longest full moon of the year. The moon is seen setting behind a hill on the morning of December 29 in Chile
Pictured is an image from NASA showing how the moon looked on Tuesday evening
'The Chang'e 4 lander and its companion Yutu-2 rover launched December 7, 2018 and landed January 3, 2019.'
'The Chang'e 5 lunar sample return mission launched on November 23 (in UTC, November 24 in China's time zone) and returned its samples to the Earth on December 16, 2020, humanity's first lunar sample return since 1976.'
The moon will appear full until Thursday morning and the next time a full moon appears January 28, which is called the 'Full Wolf Moon.'
SCIENTISTS DON'T AGREE ON HOW THE MOON FORMED BUT MANY BELIEVE IT WAS THE RESULT OF AN IMPACT BETWEEN EARTH AND ANOTHER PLANET
Many researchers believe the moon formed after Earth was hit by a planet the size of Mars billions of years ago.
This is called the giant impact hypothesis.
The theory suggests the moon is made up of debris left over following a collision between our planet and a body around 4.5 billion years ago.
The colliding body is sometimes called Theia, after the mythical Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, the goddess of the moon.
Many researchers believe the moon formed after Earth was hit by a planet the size of Mars billions of years ago. This is called the giant impact hypothesis
But one mystery has persisted, revealed by rocks the Apollo astronauts brought back from the moon: Why are the moon and Earth so similar in their composition?
Several different theories have emerged over the years to explain the similar fingerprints of Earth and the moon.
Perhaps the impact created a huge cloud of debris that mixed thoroughly with the Earth and then later condensed to form the moon.
Or Theia could have, coincidentally, been chemically similar to young Earth.
A third possibility is that the moon formed from Earthen materials, rather than from Theia, although this would have been a very unusual type of impact.
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