Two Supermoons Close 2026: Beaver Moon Nov. 24, Cold Moon Dec. 23, Plus Geminids and the Solstice

The last two months of 2026 bring two supermoons, a strong meteor shower and the winter solstice. The Beaver Moon is full on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 9:53 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), two days before Thanksgiving, and the Cold Moon is full on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 8:28 p.m. EST, the closest full moon of the year. In between, the Geminid meteor shower peaks the night of Dec. 13-14, and the winter solstice arrives on Monday, Dec. 21 at 3:50 p.m. EST. Full moon times are from the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO).

Countdown to the Cold Moon and the solstice

The clock shows each moment in your own time zone, converted from the exact instant the USNO publishes. The Beaver Moon and the Cold Moon reach their full phase at a single instant worldwide, even though the clock time differs by region.

Two supermoons to end 2026

“Supermoon” is a popular term, not an official astronomical one, so different outlets draw the line in different places. BBC Sky at Night Magazine lists three supermoons in 2026: Jan. 3, Nov. 24 and Dec. 23 (Dec. 24 in Coordinated Universal Time). It gives the Beaver Moon a distance of 360,768 kilometers (224,170 miles) and the Cold Moon 356,740 kilometers (221,667 miles), the closest full moon of the year. The timeanddate reference flags only the December full moon as a super full moon. Either way, both moons look large and bright, and the Cold Moon is the nearer of the two.

A supermoon happens when the full phase lands near the Moon’s perigee, its closest point to Earth, so the disc looks slightly bigger and brighter than an average full moon. The difference is hard to judge by eye, but a supermoon low on the horizon, framed by trees or buildings, can look striking.

Beaver Moon and Cold Moon times across the U.S.

Both full moons fall after U.S. clocks go back on Nov. 1, so every zone is on standard time. The table converts the USNO instant for the four mainland time zones.

Full moon	Eastern	Central	Mountain	Pacific
Beaver Moon (Nov. 24)	9:53 a.m.	8:53 a.m.	7:53 a.m.	6:53 a.m.
Cold Moon (Dec. 23)	8:28 p.m.	7:28 p.m.	6:28 p.m.	5:28 p.m.

The Beaver Moon reaches its full phase during daylight on Nov. 24, so the best view is the night before or the night of, when the Moon rises around sunset and looks full to the eye. The Cold Moon is full in the evening of Dec. 23, high in the winter sky.

The names are traditional. The November full moon is widely called the Beaver Moon and the December full moon the Cold Moon. The Cold Moon falls in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Dec. 24, which is why calendars in Europe can show it a day later than U.S. calendars do.

A full moon for Thanksgiving week

The Beaver Moon on Nov. 24 lands two days before Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 26. By Thanksgiving night the Moon is still almost full and easy to find, a bright disc rising in the east after dinner. Mark the date on a November 2026 printable calendar if you want to plan an evening walk.

Days until each event

Date	Event	Days from today
Nov. 24	Beaver Moon, full supermoon (9:53 a.m. EST)	31
Dec. 13-14	Geminid meteor shower peak night	50
Dec. 21	Winter solstice (3:50 p.m. EST)	58
Dec. 21-22	Ursid meteor shower peak night	58
Dec. 23	Cold Moon, full supermoon (8:28 p.m. EST)	60

The day counts above update to the current date when the page loads.

The Geminids: the best meteor shower of the month

The Geminid meteor shower is active from Dec. 4 to Dec. 17 and peaks the night of Sunday, Dec. 13 into Monday, Dec. 14, 2026, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). Under a dark, clear sky the AMS puts the rate at roughly 120 to 150 meteors an hour at the peak. This year the timing is kind: the Moon is only about 21% lit on the peak night, so it does little to wash out the fainter meteors.

The Geminid radiant, in the constellation Gemini, rises in the early evening, so you can start watching by about 9 p.m. local time, earlier than for most showers. The meteors are often bright and can appear in any part of the sky.

The Ursids and the solstice

The winter solstice falls on Monday, Dec. 21, 2026, at 3:50 p.m. EST (20:50 UTC), the USNO says. It marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, after which daylight slowly lengthens.

The same night brings a smaller shower. The Ursids are active from Dec. 17 to Dec. 26 and peak the night of Monday, Dec. 21 into Tuesday, Dec. 22, with a modest rate of about 10 meteors an hour. The Moon is about 89 to 94% lit near that peak, so moonlight hides all but the brightest. If you are out for the solstice, the Geminids a week earlier are the better bet.

How to watch

1. Get away from lights. A park or rural spot makes more difference than any gear.
2. Give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust, and keep phone screens dim.
3. Dress warmly. December nights are cold; a reclining chair and a blanket help you stay out.
4. Look up, not at the radiant. Meteors streak across the whole sky.

More sky events

November’s meteor showers come first; see our guide to the Taurids and Leonids. For October’s full moon, read about the Hunter’s Moon. To plan the year ahead, our moon phases 2027 calendar lists every full moon of next year. Print the winter months with our December 2026 printable calendar or a 2027 yearly calendar, and keep the free night sky calendar below on the fridge.