Supermoon to shine over California soon. Here’s how to get best photos

The final supermoon of 2025 is coming. Are you ready to take spectacular photos of the celestial phenomenon with your phone or camera?

The so-called “cold moon” will reach its peak Thursday, Dec. 4, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It follows the hunter’s moon in October and the beaver moon in November, BBC Sky at Night Magazine reported.

The cold moon takes its name from “a Mohawk name that conveys the frigid conditions of this time of year when cold weather truly begins to grip us,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac said.

Other traditional Native American names include frost exploding trees moon, moon of the popping trees, hoar frost moon, snow moon and winter maker moon.

Here’s what to know.

What is a supermoon?

The moon doesn’t orbit Earth in a precise circle, so it’s orbit periodically brings it closer or farther away from us, NASA reports.

“A ‘supermoon’ occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point known as perigee,” the space agency said.

Because of variations in the moon’s orbit and the positions of the Earth and sun, some supermoons are closer than others.

“Supermoons only happen three to four times a year, and always appear consecutively,” NASA said.

Supermoons can appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons, the agency said.

California rated tops for visibility

According to the Supermoon Visibility Index from Action Network, California will be one of the top 10 states from which to view this month’s cold moon.

The Golden State ranks No. 6 on the list, with New Mexico claiming the top spot.

The index ranks states for “sky clarity, humidity, elevation, and darkness,” Action Network said.

How to photograph the supermoon on your phone

Here are some tips from NASA for taking photos of the supermoon on your phone:

• Stabilize your phone, either on a tripod or propping it up on something steady.
• Turn off the flash and focus your camera on the moon, not on the sky.
• Use a photo timer if your phone has one so you don’t risk jostling it by touching it.
• Experiment with your phone’s zoom to determine the best options.

How to photograph the supermoon on your camera

Here’s what NASA has to suggest about taking photos of the supermoon on your digital or film camera:

• Experiment with your camera in manual mode to learn how to change the settings. These include aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
• Aperture is the size of the shutter opening that allows light inside the camera. Lower numbers indicate larger openings.
• Shutter speed represents how long the camera allows light inside.
• ISO controls the camera’s light sensitivity.
• You’ll have to experiment with all three settings to discover the ones that work best for you and your conditions.
• A basic tip for taking photos of the moon is to set the aperture at 11 and set the shutter speed and ISO to the same number, starting with an ISO around 100.
• As with phones, a tripod and shutter release cable can help your camera take better shots.

Other tips for photographing the supermoon

Here are some other tips for composing stellar photos of the supermoon:

• A supermoon looks bigger closer to the horizon, astronomy publication Space said. “As the light of the moon becomes dispersed, it travels through denser regions of Earth’s atmosphere, causing it to appear more spread out,” the publication said. But the effect diminishes the higher in the sky the moon rises.
• Objects or landmarks in the foreground can “frame the moon, give context, or add to the design of your image,” NASA advised.
• You also can take photos through a telescope, either with special equipment or by pointing your phone or camera into a telescope eyepiece, although this requires some luck.
• Check ahead on the times for moonrises and moonsets, Space said. Be sure to arrive early to be set up for the best photo opportunities, but realize “unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the weather.”
• “‘Try and try again’ is the key to great moon photography, NASA said. Take plenty of photos and delete the bad ones. Getting a great photo of the supermoon can mostly be a matter of luck anyway.