This graphic represents the view due east at 7pm GMT on Christmas Day 2015 as seen from the centre of the British Isles, about an hour after full darkness has descended. The rising full Moon lies in the constellation Gemini, just above magnitude +1.9 star γ Geminorum, otherwise known as Alhena. This is the first time since 1977 that a full Moon has fallen on 25 December and the next time it occurs is 2034, so hopefully it will be clear! AN graphic by Ade Ashford.December’s full Moon, the last of the year, is called the Full Cold Moon because it occurs during the beginning of winter. The instant that this month’s full lunar phase will occur is 11:11am GMT and it will rise at 4:32pm GMT as seen from the centre of the British Isles.
As you gaze up at the Christmas Moon, take note that NASA has a spacecraft currently orbiting Earth’s only natural satellite. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission has been investigating the Moon’s surface since 2009.How the Moon will appear on 25 December 2015. Image credits: NASA/Goddard/Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.“As we look at the Moon on such an occasion, it’s worth remembering that the Moon is more than just a celestial neighbour,” said John Keller, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The geologic history of the Moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that the Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the Moon.”
LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon.
On 27 April 2016, engineers unveiled the giant golden mirror of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope as part of the integration and testing of the infrared telescope. The 6.5-metre mirror is composed of 18 segments the size of a coffee table. Each is made from beryllium, weighs about 46 pounds (20 kg) and coated with vaporised gold to reflect infrared light.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) recently captured a unique view of Earth centred just off the coast of Liberia from the spacecraft’s vantage point in orbit around the Moon, about 83 miles above the crater Compton, which is located just beyond the eastern limb of the Moon, on the lunar farside.