Saturday, Jan. 3 will mark the first full moon of 2026. Known as the Wolf Moon, it will be at its fullest at 5:02 a.m. EST and best seen rising in the east at dusk later that day. It will also be a "supermoon," meaning it will appear brighter and larger than usual.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, January's full moon gets its name because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time of year. Other Native American names for this full moon include the Cold Moon, the Frost Exploding Moon, the Freeze-Up Moon, the Severe Moon, the Hard Moon, the Center Moon, and the Canada Goose Moon. In Europe, it's often called the Moon After Yule, after the ancient festival that stretches from the winter solstice on Dec. 21 through Jan. 1.
The best time to see the Wolf Moon will be at moonrise on Jan. 3, when it will appear at dusk between a star and a very bright planet. On its left will be Pollux, a bright star in the constellation Gemini, and Jupiter will be on its right. The "king of planets" will be just a week away from its bright opposition — the most luminous it will get from our perspective in 2026.
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Because it's the full moon closest to the winter solstice on Dec. 21, the Wolf Moon will also make the highest arc through the night sky of any full moon, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. That happens because a full moon is always opposite the sun, so the winter sun mimics the summer sun.
The Wolf Moon is also the fourth consecutive supermoon, though it will not be particularly large. It is also the last one until November. It's called a supermoon because it turns full close to perigee, the closest the moon gets to Earth. As it turns full on Jan. 3, the full moon will be 225,130 miles (362,312 kilometers) from our planet.
By chance, that will happen as Earth reaches perihelion — its closest point to the sun — when it will be 91.4 million miles (147.1 million km) from our star, compared with the average distance of 93 million miles (150 million km).
After the Wolf Moon, the next full moon will be the Snow Moon, on Feb. 1.
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