Skywatchers remain in for a sensational phenomenon today when the second-biggest moon of 2025, the Cold Supermoon, increases in the east at sunset and appears greater in the night sky than any other moon of the year.

Formally complete at 6:14 p.m. EST on Thursday(Dec. 4), the moon will increase in the east within the constellation Taurus. The moon is technically complete at a particular minute, it’s most aesthetically excellent at the time of moonrise where you are, when it appears biggest near the horizon.

December’s Cold Moon constantly climbs up greater in the sky than any other moon of the year. As the winter season solstice nears on Dec. 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun appears at its least expensive in the sky throughout the day. On the other hand, the moon– which, by meaning, is opposite the sun– increases to its greatest during the night.

According to The Old Farmer’s AlmanacNative American names for December’s moon consist of the Frost Exploding Trees Moon (Cree), the Moon of the Popping Trees (Oglala), the Moon When the Deer Shed Their Antlers (Dakota), the Winter Maker Moon (Western Abenaki), the Cold Moon (Mohawk) and the Long Night Moon (Mohican). The latter originates from this moon’s nearness to the winter season solstice, which happens on Dec. 21 this year. Old English and Anglo-Saxon names for December’s moon are the Moon Before Yule and the Long Night Moon, according to Time and Date

The next moon will be the Wolf Moon on Jan. 3, 2026, the 4th and last supermoon in a row. It will be the very first of 13 moons in 2026, thanks to a Blue Moon– the 2nd moon in a calendar month– happening in May 2026.