When and the place to look in 2023: Search for the brilliant, spherical full moon to rise within the east close to sundown on January 6, 2023. It’ll be glowing almost overhead round midnight, and dropping low within the west close to dawn.
Crest of the full moon falls at 23:08 UTC on January 6. That’s 5:08 p.m. CST.
January’s full moon is the Wolf Moon: All full moons have fashionable nicknames. January’s full moon is commonly known as the Wolf Moon as a result of – in components of the world the place they dwell – wolves are lively in January and sometimes howl on chilly nights. Different names derived from North American indigenous individuals play upon January’s chilly. They embody the Chilly Moon, Frost Exploding Moon, Freeze Up Moon, and Laborious Moon.
Word: At full moon, the sun, Earth, and the moon align in space, with Earth within the center. Because of this, the moon’s day aspect – its totally lighted hemisphere – immediately faces us. That’s why the moon appears full. Since – as seen from the Northern Hemisphere – the sun travels day by day in a brief, low arc throughout the early January sky, the full moon, reverse the sun within the sky, travels in an extended, excessive arc throughout and passes almost overhead round native midnight. In the meantime, as seen from the Southern Hemisphere, the January sun is excessive, and the moon rides low.
This January’s full moon is a micromoon
Some moons are supermoons. That’s, they’re each full and in a shut a part of their orbits to Earth.
However the January 2023 full moon is a micromoon. It’s in a far a part of its orbit. A cautious comparability with photographs of different full moons would present that this full moon seems smaller-than-average in our sky.
The January 2023 micromoon is the primary of two micromoons in 2023. It’s not the farthest full moon of 2023. It’s solely 2nd-farthest, at 252,145 miles (405,789 km). The February full moon will probably be 2023’s farthest – and final – micromoon of this yr.
Whereas a mircomoon can seem as much as 14% smaller than a supermoon – thus showing much less vibrant than a supermoon – this January 2023 full moon nonetheless will shine very brightly. It’ll seem particularly vibrant as a result of the leaves are off the deciduous timber now. If snow covers the bottom the place you might be, the moon will look brighter nonetheless.
So get pleasure from January’s full moon!
Early January full moon lies in Gemini
The January full moon can lie in entrance of one in every of two constellations of the zodiac. If the full moon falls within the first half of the month, because it does this yr, it should land in Gemini the Twins. If it occurs through the second half, because it did in 2022 and can once more in 2024, it should fall in Cancer the Crab.
The moon is roundest on the day when it’s full, but it surely seems nearly, however not fairly full the day earlier than and after. On the night of this January’s full moon, the dual stars of Gemini, Castor (the dimmer one) and Pollux (the brighter one) shine close by. Nevertheless, the brilliant moonlight might make these two well-known stars dim and even invisible. Should you can’t spot them, relaxation assured, they’re nonetheless there!
January full moon and the June sun
Each full moon stays – roughly – reverse the sun. The moon’s path roughly follows the sun’s daytime path from six months in the past, and 6 months from now. You’ll be able to see this occurring as you watch the early January full moon rise to nearly the highest of the sky, simply because the sun does within the weeks earlier than and after the June solstice.
For the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the identical impact. However, since it’s early summer time there, the full moon in early January rides low because the early January sun rides excessive.
This January’s full moon almost matches the excessive arc of final month’s full moon as a result of the winter solstice – on December 21 – occurred about halfway between them.
Tracing the excessive path of the January full moon
You’ll be able to experiment with the trail of the sun and moon. Merely hint a line along with your finger from east to west alongside a low arc above the southern horizon to emulate the sun’s early January path. Then hint one other path excessive overhead to emulate the moon’s path in early January. You’ll see that the upper path will probably be for much longer than the decrease one.
Little by little, we will watch the 2 paths come again into steadiness. Every month, the full moon will cross the sky at a barely decrease arc than the earlier month. Every successive full moon takes much less time than the earlier one to cross the sky. At March’s full moon, which is close to the Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox, the 2 paths – of the moon and of the sun – will almost the identical. Then, close to the June solstice, these of us within the Northern Hemisphere see the sun cross excessive overhead through the yr’s longest days. And, through the brief northern summer time nights, we see the moon cross decrease and spend much less time within the sky.
And on the cycle goes.
Backside line: The 2023 January full moon falls on January 6 at 23:08 UTC (January 6, 5:08 p.m. CST). That’s simply 16 nights after the December solstice. It intently follows the trail of the sun in early July.
