You Do Not Want To Miss The LAST Supermoon Of 2016

Tomorrow night, you'll get an early holiday present in the form of not one, but two major spectacles in the sky. The Geminid meteor shower will illuminate the sky around 2 a.m. on December 14. But before that, around 7 p.m. on December 13, the last big supermoon, the Cold Moon, will reach its peak. While the Cold Moon isn't primed to look quite as big as November's supermoon, the Beaver Moon, it's the final full moon of 2016, and one worth watching. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, Native American tribes had a practical reason for calling December's full moon the Cold Moon: It occurs during a time when the days are long, dark, and, yes, very chilly. The moon has also been called the "Moon before Yule" because it rises close to the winter solstice, on December 21. Last year's Cold Moon was especially rare, because it occurred on Christmas Day. As EarthSky notes, the only potential downside of having both big celestial events on the same night is that the moon's light could make it difficult to see the Geminids. But since you're bound to at least see the moon, there's no better reason to throw on your puffy coat, fill a thermos with mulled wine, and brave the cold tomorrow night.