The “Wolf Moon,” the complete moon of January, will appear on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Image credit: Dawn Villwok-Joerg through Getty Images)(Image credit: Dawn Villwok-Joerg/Getty Images)ShareShare by:
- Duplicate link
- X
Share this article 0Become part of the conversationFollow usInclude us as a favored source on GoogleNewsletterEnlist in our newsletter
The inaugural full moon of 2026 will occur on Saturday, January 3. It’s peak, labeled the Wolf Moon, will come at 5:02 a.m. EST, with the most favorable viewing opportunity in the east at nightfall afterward. This will also be a “supermoon,” implying a more vibrant and sizable appearance than typical.
According to details shared by the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the January full moon is so named since wolves would frequently be heard howling during this period. 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 are some other designations assigned to this full moon by Native American peoples. Throughout Europe, it is often referred to as the Moon After Yule, an homage to the ancient commemoration that spans from Dec. 21, the winter solstice, to Jan. 1.
The optimum time to observe the Wolf Moon will be upon its ascent on Jan. 3, with its appearance during nightfall flanked by a star and a markedly radiant planet. On its left will be Pollux, a prominent star within the Gemini constellation; to its right, Jupiter. In 2026, the “king of planets” will only be a week out from its radiant opposition — when it reaches its peak luminosity from our vantage.
You may like
-
Full moons of 2026: When to see all 13 moons rise next year
-
Cold Moon 2025: See the last and highest full moon of the year
-
Beaver Supermoon: The biggest, brightest full moon of the year rises tonight
The Wolf Moon will also trace the highest arc across the night sky of all full moons when viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, being the full moon nearest to the winter solstice on Dec. 21. This transpires because a full moon always stands opposite to the sun, causing the winter sun to mirror the summer sun.
RELATED STORIES
—We were mistaken about how the moon’s largest and most ancient crater came to be — and that spells positive news for NASA’s subsequent lunar landing
—What explains those peculiar lights sometimes spotted on the moon?
—Scientists have at last pinpointed the root of the uneven cloud following Earth’s moon through the cosmos
Although it will not be exceptionally large, the Wolf Moon is also the fourth successive supermoon. Furthermore, it will be the last until November. Its supermoon designation stems from its fullness happening near perigee, which is the moon’s closest approach to Earth. As it reaches totality on Jan. 3, the full moon will be at a distance of 225,130 miles (362,312 kilometers) away from our planet.
In an interesting coincidence, this will occur while Earth reaches perihelion — its nearest point to the sun — at a separation of 91.4 million miles (147.1 million km) from our star, whereas the average distance is 93 million miles (150 million km).
The next full moon after the Wolf Moon will be the Snow Moon on Feb. 1.
Jamie CarterSocial Links NavigationContributor to Live Science
Jamie Carter, a freelance journalist, contributes frequently to Live Science and resides in Cardiff, U.K. He penned A Stargazing Program For Beginners and delivers talks on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie frequently authors articles for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife magazine, and Scientific American, amongst numerous other publications. He oversees WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.
Show More Comments
You must verify your public display identity before leaving a comment
Please log out and back in to receive the prompt to provide your display name.
LogoutRead more
Full moons of 2026: When to see all 13 moons rise next year
Cold Moon 2025: See the last and highest full moon of the year
Beaver Supermoon: The biggest, brightest full moon of the year rises tonight
The full Harvest Moon supermoon rises tonight
Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this week: How to see the first ‘shooting’ stars of the year
Harvest supermoon photos: See the moon at its biggest and brightest in pictures from around the world
Latest in Space
Should humans colonize other planets?
First-ever ‘superkilonova’ double star explosion puzzles astronomers
Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this week: How to see the first ‘shooting’ stars of the year
Stunning array of 400 rings in a ‘reflection’ nebula solves a 30-year-old star-formation mystery — Space photo of the week
Science history: James Webb Space Telescope launches — and promptly cracks our view of the universe — Dec. 25, 2021