December Full Moon Supermoon Is 2016’s Third or Fourth Full Moon Supermoon

Summary: The December full moon supermoon that closes the year’s full moon repertoire is 2016’s third or fourth full moon supermoon.

albedo image of full moon supermoon at 00:05 UTC Dec. 14, 2016; view from 357,711 kilometers above 6 degrees 18 minutes north 2 degrees 25 minutes east: John Walker/Earth and Moon Viewer, Public Domain, via Fourmilab Switzerland

The December full moon supermoon that reaches fullness Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 00:05 Coordinated Universal Time (7:05 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, Dec. 13) closes the year’s full moon lineup as 2016’s third or fourth full moon supermoon.

The December full moon supermoon’s ranking as 2016’s third or fourth full moon supermoon depends upon the interpretation of a component of the definition of supermoon. The status of October, November and December full moon supermoons is secure.

The September full moon’s inclusion into the year’s elite group of supermoons, however, hinges upon a narrow or broad interpretation of the timeframe for calculations. EarthSky Tonight’s lead writer, Bruce McClure, quotes the definition given by the term’s creator, astrologer Richard Nolle, as “. . . a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit.”

Nolle does not include the September full moon supermoon in his chart of “21st Century SuperMoon Alignments.” He lists the October full moon supermoon as 2016’s first full moon supermoon. According to Nolle’s calculations, the December full moon supermoon is 2016’s third full moon supermoon.

McClure explains that Nolle bases his calculations upon a yearly context for determining supermoons. Contrastingly, retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak bases his designation of the September full moon as a supermoon upon a monthly context for identifying supermoons. According to Espenak, the December full moon supermoon is 2016’s fourth full moon supermoon.

Espenak, known popularly as “Mr. Eclipse” for his extensive lunar and solar eclipse data, also designates January 2017’s full moon as a full moon supermoon. According to Espenak, Thursday, Jan. 12’s full moon is not only the fifth of five-in-a-row full moon supermoons but also 2017’s first full moon supermoon.

Contrastingly, Nolle accords the status of 2017’s first and only full moon supermoon to Sunday, Dec. 3’s full moon.

Supermoons occur only during the moon’s new and full phases. The moon’s full phase is the fifth in the eight-phase monthly lunar cycle. Fullness pertains to complete illumination of the lunar disc, as viewed from Earth. In the full phase, the moon is positioned in opposition to the sun. The moon’s placement, in its orbit around the Earth, is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. The full moon is angled at 180 degrees with respect to the sun.

The other lunar phase qualifying supermoon consideration is the new moon. The moon’s new phase restarts the lunar cycle as the first of the cycle’s eight phases. In its new phase, the moon is more or less between Earth and sun.

Perigee, or closest distance, for December 2016 precedes the month’s instant of fullness by 24 hours 37 minutes. On Monday, Dec. 12, at 23:28 UTC (6:28 p.m. EST), the moon reaches the month’s perigee. Programmer John Walker’s lunar perigee and apogee charts on his website, Fourmilab Switzerland, give a center-to-center distance of 358,462 kilometers (222,737 miles) for Dec. 12.

Regardless of supermoon status, the December full moon tends to convey coldness to many locations in the Northern Hemisphere. East coast Native Americans, who shared their descriptive names for the year’s months with Colonial Americans, know December as a cold full moon month. For example, for the Abenaki, December’s full moon is named pebonkas, “winter maker moon.” The Cherokee name is vskihyi, “snow moon.”

The takeaway for the December full moon supermoon is that 2016’s third or fourth full moon supermoon assuredly is the year’s last full moon supermoon.

Living Earth® Inc./Earth imaging map of day and night sides of Earth at instant of full moon supermoon’s turn to fullness, 00:05 UTC Dec. 14, 2016: John Walker/Earth and Moon Viewer, Public Domain, via Fourmilab Switzerland

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

albedo image of full moon supermoon at 00:05 UTC Dec. 14, 2016; view from 357,711 kilometers above 6 degrees 18 minutes north 2 degrees 25 minutes west: John Walker/Earth and Moon Viewer, Public Domain, via Fourmilab Switzerland @ https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth

Living Earth® Inc./Earth imaging map of day and night sides of Earth at instant of full moon supermoon’s turn to fullness, 00:05 UTC Dec. 14, 2016: John Walker/Earth and Moon Viewer, Public Domain, via Fourmilab Switzerland @ https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth

For further information:

“American Indian Moons.” Western Washington University > Skywise Unlimited.
Available @ http://www.wwu.edu/skywise/indianmoons.html

Espenak, Fred. “Astronomical Events in 2016.” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials > Science Wire > Space. May 3, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/space/astronomical-phenomena-events-for-this-year

Espenak, Fred. “Full Moon at Perigee (Super Moon): 2001 to 2100 Greenwich Mean Time.” Astro Pixels > Ephemeris > Moon.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/fullperigee2001.html

Ford, Dominic. “The Moon at Perigee.” In the Sky > News.
Available @ https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20341125_09_100

Haddock, Patricia. Mysteries of the Moon: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego CA: Greenhaven Press, 1992.

Marriner, Derdriu. “October Hunter’s Moon Is First or Second Full Moon Supermoon for 2016.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/10/october-hunters-moon-is-first-or-second.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “November 2016 Full Moon Supermoon Is Nearest Supermoon Since 1948.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/november-2016-full-moon-supermoon-is.html

McClure, Bruce. “2016’s Closest Supermoon Is November 14.” EarthSky > Tonight. Nov. 13, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/most-super-supermoon

McClure, Bruce. “Closest Supermoon Since 1948!” EarthSky > Tonight. Nov. 12, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/closest-supermoon-since-1948

McClure, Bruce. “Cold Moon on Peak Night of Geminid Shower.” EarthSky > Tonight. Dec. 13, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/geminid-meteor-shower-peaks-on-night-of-december-13

McClure, Bruce. “September 16 Full Moon a Supermoon?” EarthSky > Tonight. Sept. 14, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/is-the-september-2016-full-moon-a-supermoon

Nolle, Richard. “21st Century SuperMoon Alignments.” Astropro > Features > Tables > 21st Century Lunar Tables > SuperMoons. 2000.
Available @ http://www.astropro.com/features/tables/cen21ce/suprmoon.html

Nolle, Richard. “The SuperMoon and Other Lunar Extremes.” The Mountain Astrologer > Old Files.
Available @ http://www.mountainastrologer.com/oldfiles/Nolle1007.html

Nolle, Richard. “Supermoon: What It Is, What It Means.” Astropro > Features > Articles. Last updated March 22, 2011.
Available @ http://www.astropro.com/features/articles/supermoon/

Walker, John. “Lunar Perigee and Apogee Calculator.” Fourmilab Switzerland > Earth and Moon Viewer.
Available @ https://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html

Webb, Brian. “UTC Conversion Table.” Space Archive Info > Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Available @ http://www.spacearchive.info/utc.htm