Set your alarms, stargazers – the final supermoon of 2025 is about to light up Canadian skies this week, and it’s a celestial treat you won’t want to miss.
On Thursday, December 4, bundle up and turn your gaze toward the horizon as the “Cold Supermoon” rises over the city. This dazzling lunar event isn’t just the second-biggest full moon of the year; it will also soar higher in the night sky than any other full moon in 2025. True to its wintery name, it will appear up to 10% larger and 16% brighter than a typical full moon.
The Cold Supermoon reaches exact fullness at 6:14 p.m. EST on Thursday. But if you can’t catch it right at that moment, don’t worry; it will look bright and full for three nights: tonight, Thursday, and Friday.
Its most dramatic appearance will come at moonrise on December 4, when it lifts above the eastern horizon and seems unusually large thanks to the “moon illusion.”
NASA explains that a full moon becomes a supermoon when it reaches its “perigee” (the point in its orbit closest to Earth) at the same time it turns full.
December’s full moon also naturally climbs higher in the sky for those in the Northern Hemisphere. As we approach the winter solstice on December 21, the sun reaches its lowest point in the daytime sky. The full moon, positioned directly opposite the sun, therefore hits its highest nighttime altitude of the year.
Looking ahead, the next supermoon will be the Wolf Moon on January 3, 2026 – the grand finale of the current four-supermoon streak and the first of 13 full moons set to shine in 2026, thanks to a Blue Moon arriving in May.
For the best view of this week’s lunar spectacle, consider heading outside the city to an area with minimal light pollution. Happy moon-watching!