When to watch last supermoon of the year 2025

The year is ending, and so is the series of celestial events, and supermoon sightings, with the final display show.

Skywatchers are in for a stunning spectacle this week when the third-biggest full moon of 2025, rises in the east at dusk and appears higher in the night sky than any other full moon of the year.

December supermoon also titled ‘Cold Moon’ is expected to rise this week on Thursday December 4, 2025.

Supermoons are not rare but what made them rare this year is their unusual sighting sequence in the celestial events.

These supermoons occur when the Moon is in ‘perigee,’ a timeline where the full moon coincides as the closest point to Earth in its orbit, appearing larger and brighter than usual in the night sky.

The event of a straight-line configuration of the Sun, Earth, and Moon in sequence is also known as "syzygy."

Why December's Supermoon is titled as ‘Cold Moon’

The last full moon of the year has been given the name as “cold moon” as it rises during one of the coldest, darkest periods of the year.

How to watch the last supermoon of 2025?

The final supermoon will be higher in the skies than any other supermoon sighted previously, reaching its peak on Thursday December 4, 2025.

The moon can be glimpsed in clear night skies without any special equipment. But it can be tough to discern the subtle change with the naked eye.

The Moon appears bigger when it's close to the horizon because of Moon Illusion. It's a strange visual trick that experts can't yet explain.

"When you have a supermoon, that effect is just slightly more striking,” said astronomer William Alston with the University of Hertfordshire.

As per the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission SUPARCO, the moon will look about 7.9% bigger and 15% more luminous than a typical full moon.

View guidelines across the globe

The last full moon of the year is expected to rise in the north-eastern skies on December 4, 2025, sighting at different time zones according to different countries.

UK and Europe: The occultation occurs in the early morning hours of Thursday, December 4, before sunrise.

People may look for the Moon and Pleiades rising in the east Wednesday December 3,2025 evening and track them across the sky.

For Europe, the cold moon will rise between 11:00 p.m. to 12: 00 a.m. GMT and for UK, its December 3,2025 11-11:30p.m.

Eastern North and Western American viewers can see the Moon pass in front of the cluster in the early evening of Wednesday, December 3,2025.

Additionally, the moon will reach its full peak on the evening of December 4,2025 at 6:14 p.m. EST.