The year is coming to an end, and along with some stellar lunar and solar eclipses, it is giving skywatchers one final full moon.

The December full moon is called the Cold Moon on account of the frigid conditions it arrives in. The moon ushers in the winter over much of the United States. Also called the long night moon, this moon will stay in the sky longer than most other full moons, according to Farmer's Almanac.

The Cold Moon was also called the Moon Before Yule by Europeans as it brings in the Christmas festival. Some other interesting alternative names for the Cold Moon, include Drift Clearing Moon, Frost Exploding Trees Moon, Moon of the Popping Trees, Hoar Frost Moon, Snow Moon and Winter Maker Moon, as per the outlet.

The 12th and last full moon of the year will peak on Wednesday at 11:09 p.m. ET. Next year, however, will see 13 full moons gracing the skies, as per Inverse.

For those who fail to see the Cold Moon at its peak, Tuesday and Thursday are also days when the moon will be almost full, with very few differences to tell each one apart.

The Cold Moon will be a treat for the sky gazers. A full moon is six times brighter than a half moon at magnitude -12.92. For context, the brightest stars peak at -2, according to Inverse.

The full moon after this one will appear at 6:09 p.m. Eastern on Friday, January 6, 2023. The January full moon is called the wolf moon.

A full moon occurs every 27 days. It is observed when the moon and the sun are at exact opposite positions of each other with Earth in between them. Sometimes the moon, while orbiting Earth, falls under Earth's shadow leading to a lunar eclipse. This is not going to be the case this time around.

In other news, the Artemis 1 crew took a "selfie" with the moon.

The crew members include Commander Moonikin Campos, and the female-bodied Zohar and Helga, the manikins named by the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and German Aerospace Center (DLR), respectively.

In an amusing exchange on Twitter, Zohar, from ISA's account, invited the two other manikins for a selfie. "Hi Helga and Commander Moonikin Campos, already see the Moon, coming in for a selfie?" she said.

NASA's Artemis account replied, "Are you ready? Smile and say hello!" and DLR responded, writing, "Hallo, shalom!"

full moon
An image of one full side of the moon. NASA