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Cold Moon Supermoon Peaks on Dec. 4, Most Extreme Until 2042

A rare alignment of perigee with an 18.6‑year lunar standstill produced an unusually large, bright Cold Moon with only slight tidal effects.

Overview

  • The full phase occurred at 23:14 GMT on Dec. 4 (20:14 in Argentina), with the Moon appearing essentially full from Dec. 3–5.
  • The event coincided with the peak of an 18.6‑year standstill cycle, placing the Moon unusually high in northern skies and very low on southern horizons.
  • Near perigee at roughly 357,000 km, the Moon appeared about 8–14% larger and 16–30% brighter than a typical full moon, according to astronomy sources.
  • NASA and national agencies noted only modest tidal increases and reported no significant impacts to daily life.
  • This was the third and final supermoon of 2025, following Oct. 6 and Nov. 5, with a configuration not expected to repeat at similar extremeness until 2042.