• Your calendar probably says tomorrow (Friday, December 28) is the date for the December 2012 full moon. For North America, however, the moon turns full before sunrise on Friday - so in that sense, tonight is the night of the full moon for our part of the world. The full moon occurs on Friday, December

28 at 10:21 Universal Time (5:21 a.m. EST, 4:21 a.m. CST, 3:21 a.m. MST and 2:21 a.m. PST)
• That bright star-like object relatively close to tonight's moon is actually the giant planet Jupiter. You may have noticed that the moon was closer to Jupiter yesterday, on December 26, and closer yet on December 25. As always, the moon moves eastward in front of the backdrop stars (and planets) as its orbits our planet Earth.
• Because this is the closest full moon to the December solstice, the appellation Long Night Moon certainly pertains to the Northern Hemisphere, where the daylight is fleeting but the nighttime so long-lasting. In the Southern Hemisphere - where the days are long and the nights are short - perhaps we could call the closest full moon to the December solstice the Short Night Moon.
• The full moon - as always - mimics the sun's path for some six months hence. Watch tonight as the moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise tomorrow. Around midnight, the moon climbs highest up for the night, mimicking the position of the noonday June solstice sun.

• Given clear skies, tropical and temperate regions from all around the world will see the moon shining from dusk until dawn tonight. In the Northern Hemisphere, the moon's path across the sky tonight will resemble that of the high-flying summer solstice sun. In the Southern Hemisphere, the moon's path will follow the low arc of the sun on the winter solstice.

(Continued on page 13)