Moonrise over Yellowstone National Park
© Tom Murphy/Getty Image
'Cold Moon' rising. Night of the ‘Cold Moon’
Before the solar calendar was adopted, many cultures looked to the moon to help track the months and seasons—and they adopted special names for full moons throughout the year. That’s why, in the Northern Hemisphere, a full moon that appears in December is known as the Cold Moon, a nod to the chilly temperatures of winter. Some American Indian tribes called it the Long Night Moon, as it occurs near the winter solstice, and in other cultures it’s known as an Oak Moon. In India, the phases of the moon are used to calculate the dates of both Islamic and Hindu rituals. This specific Cold Moon was photographed over The Thunderer Mountain in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming, United States.
A Komondor competes in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City
For Science Fiction Day, inventor Nikola Tesla and his ‘magnifying transmitter’
In Somerset, England, for Old Twelvey Night
Performers at the International Festival of the Masquerade Games in Pernik, Bulgaria
Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival, which begins today
Ice-fishing village near L'Anse-Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada
Siberian Snowkiting Cup in Novosibirsk, Russia
Loisach River with Heimgarten Mountain in Bavaria, Germany
