The very first full moon of the new year is tonight, and we can’t wait to gaze up at the nighttime sky to see the Wolf Moon.
Whether you believe there’s power in the full moon or you just think it’s pretty in the sky, we can all agree: a crisp cold night with a full moon over Atlanta is a beautiful sight to behold.
When’s the best time to see the full moon?
Of course, as soon as it gets dark, you can look out your windows and see the moon in all it’s massive glory–but according to NASA, the peak illumination will be tonight, January 13th, 2025 at exactly 5:27 p.m. ET.
Interestingly, January’s full moon will actually pass right in front of Mars, which will cause ‘an occultation,’ or when a celestial object is hidden by another, according to Space.com.
Why is it called the Wolf Moon?
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac,
The full Moon names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American, and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not just to the full Moon itself.
The Wolf Moon got its name, according to the Almanac because January was a time when people were more likely to hear wolves howling.
There are many other names for the January moon, including:
- Cold Moon (Cree)
- Frost Exploding Moon (Cree)
- Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin)
- Severe Moon (Dakota)
- Hard Moon (Dakota)
- Canada Goose Moon (Tlingit)
- Great Moon (Cree)
- Greetings Moon (Western Abenaki)
- Spirit Moon (Ojibwe)
When’s the next full moon?
The Old Farmer’s Almanac says that the next full moon will be February 12th, and it will reach peak illumination at 8:53am.