December 15, 2015 | by Jonathan O'Callaghan
Christmas this year will see a full Moon for the first time in 38 years – and in an odd cosmic coincidence, the last time we had one on Christmas was the year Star Wars: A New Hope was released (1977). This year, of course, sees the return of the franchise with The Force Awakens.
The Moon will be entirely illuminated by the Sun at 6:11 a.m. EST (11:11 a.m. GMT) on Friday December 25, so you’ll see the brightest Moon at night either side of that time. This comes three days after the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice, on Tuesday December 22.
Christmas Eve will also see the ISS travel through the sky for observers in the U.K., with it moving from west to southeast from 5:19 to 5:26 p.m. GMT – although we all know, really, it’s Santa’s sleigh making its way around the world.
The next full Moon on Christmas will appear in 2034, so you can probably hope for Star Wars: Episode 10 around then.
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