A cold supermoon, then the strongest meteor shower of year will peak over KY soon
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Geminid meteor shower peaks Dec. 13–14 with up to 100 meteors per hour.
- December 2025 cold supermoon peaks over Lexington Dec. 4.
- Cloudy sky and 20% precipitation chance could reduce moon visibility in Lexington.
The final full moon of 2025 will be a supermoon, and it will rise soon over Kentucky, just ahead of a popular meteor shower peak this month.
The “cold” supermoon moon will peak at 8:20 a.m. Eastern Standard Time Thursday, Dec. 4. The moon generally appears full the day before and after its peak, but Forbes reports the best time to see it will be at moonrise during dusk Friday, Dec. 5.
The moon will rise over Lexington at 5:50 p.m. Dec. 5, according to online clock Time and Date. Weather conditions might not be ideal for stargazing, though. The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, with slight chance of snow and a low around 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
As you might expect, December’s “cold” moon gets its name from the seasonal chilly temperatures. Alternate names for the cold moon include the drift clearing moon, frost exploding trees moon, moon of the popping trees and hoar frost moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. The almanac uses Indigenous moon names, along with monikers from colonial America and other North American sources.
December’s full cold moon will also be a supermoon, the third in a row in 2025. Supermoons appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than when the moon is at its furthest point, according to National Geographic.
A supermoon is defined as either a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth, NASA reports, and supermoons are the “biggest and brightest” full moons of the year. Supermoon is not an official astronomical term, according to NASA, so definitions vary.
When to see a popular meteor shower in December
In addition to the cold supermoon, December will also bring the Geminid meteor shower, which the American Meteor Society reports is “usually the strongest meteor shower of the year.” One of the other strongest and most popular showers of the year is the Perseid shower in August.
The Geminids will be active Dec. 4 to Wednesday, Dec. 17, according to the American Meteor Society, peaking the night of Saturday, Dec. 13 to Sunday, Dec. 14. Geminids are often bright and intensely colored, and the moon will be 30% full when the shower peaks this year.
The meteor shower should be more visible this year compared to last year since the moon will be less full. In a dark location, stargazers could see more than 100 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak, AccuWeather reports. The best time to see the shower will be between 10 p.m. Dec. 13 to 2 a.m. Dec. 14, forecasters say.
For those looking to stargaze in a group, the Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club meets monthly, typically from March to November. The last stargazing event on the club’s calendar for 2025 was Oct. 18, but you can check back at their website for upcoming events.
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