Emily Johnston was looking out the window of her home in Westminster last night and she spotted the full moon. Or at least it looked like a full moon.

Then she checked her calendar. It told her the full moon isn't until today, Tuesday, the 22nd.

"So define 'FULL MOON.' I don't mean dropping yer drawers, either," she said.

It sure did look full last night, didn't it? It was a gorgeous night, with a brilliant moon, bright Mars overhead, lots of stars. If it hadn't been so darned cold, it would have been a perfect night for stargazing.

The moon is officially "full" when it is precisely opposite the sun as seen from Earth - sitting along a straight line drawn from the sun, through the Earth, to the moon. At that moment the side facing Earth is fully illuminated. That's where it was at 8:34 a.m. today, although it had already set for Marylanders. By the time the moon rises this evening at around 5:30 p.m., it will be nine hours past "full."  Last evening, it was about 12 hours or so short of "full."

But it doesn't really matter. It was big, bright and beautiful. BTW, the first full moon of the year is called the Moon After Yule, or the Old Moon.

Not much chance we'll see the moon tonight.