Night Sky Photography -- 12-22/23-2018 -- Winter Solstice Full Moon & Constellation Orion!

Greetings fellow stargazers!

On Saturday, December 22, 2018, the final full moon of the year, falling less than a day after the winter solstice, which marks the official first day of winter. In North America, we call the December full moon the Long Night Moon, or Cold Moon. The names originate from the Native Americans, who marked December's full Moon as the beginning of the coldest part of the year. Also, the Long Night Moon is named after the longest night of the year on the winter solstice.

The peak time of the full moon will occur on December 22 at 12:49 p.m. EST while the winter solstice falls a day earlier on December 21. However, to the typical person viewing the moon, it will appear full for several days. The last time the December solstice and full moon happened less than a day apart was in 2010, and the next time will be 2029. The last time the full moon coincided with the winter solstice was in 2010. The next time it happen will be in December of 2094 -- so I was really hoping for good weather to see it this time around, as you can imagine. 

The first photo I took over Main Street in my hometown of Chester, South Carolina with the Christmas lights combined with the city lighting in the foreground. This one turned out really well, I think. My next shot was a close-up of the Full Winter Solstice Moon.

I stayed awake until after midnight to get another shot of the full moon in the southern sky from my back yard and got an extra special bonus -- the entire constellation Orion! If not for the nearby city lights (or a fifteen minute drive up HWY 321) perhaps I could have gotten a clearer shot. As it was my DSC-H300 Sony camera managed to pick up all the major stars in the constellation as you can see from the photos. In the second shot I highlighted the constellation itself (though I admit I might have been slightly off on Orion's "club" near Luna, but I did my best since those stars didn't show up well in the Cold Moon's brightness). 

My final shot of the Full Winter Solstice Moon turned out beautiful with Luna in all of her glory. The dark "seas" and the Tycho Crater all came out really clear in the shot. 
 

Well folks, I hope y'all enjoyed my photos. Please let me know what you think in the comments below. As always have a wonderful evening and keep looking to the night skies, y'all!