Sunday night’s full moon, the Holly Moon, rises at about sunset. The moon is in the constellation Taurus and not far from the winter constellation Orion, the hunter. Winter constellations have moved into our night, especially if you are out wandering later than 10 p.m.

The winter constellations are all rising in the eastern sky and include Orion, Taurus, Gemini and Auriga. It is accurate to note that the stars in this area of the sky are the brightest of the year. Summer constellations are no match to the brilliance that goes with what we see in the eastern sky at this time of year.

Astronomers have an answer. While these stars are part of our immediate Milky Way neighborhood, many are prominent because they are giants and not necessarily close. They are hundreds of light years away, yet they look close.

The full moon gets particularly high this time of year too. In the nights ahead, the moon passes along the zodiac, moving through Gemini. The full moon of winter moves through the same constellations as the sun in the summer. Winter offers us a full moon that rivals the high noontime summer sun.