Full moon January 2023: When can I see the first full moon of the year and why is it called Wolf Moon and Micromoon?

January’s full moon is also called a ‘Micromoon’ this year which is the complete opposite of a ‘Supermoon’. This means that the full moon is at its furthest point from the Earth, whilst a Supermoon is at the nearest point.

Astronomically speaking, this is called ‘apogee’ and January’s Micro full moon is around 252,600 miles from the Earth. The reason the moon is either nearer or farther from the Earth is due to the moon orbiting the Earth in an elliptical path. As a Micromoon is further away, it looks roughly 14 per cent smaller than a Supermoon and the illuminated area appears 30 per cent smaller so it will look less bright.

One side is nearer to the Earth and the other side is farther away and this distance is not actually impacted by the moon’s size and brightness, however, it is most likely not that visible to the naked eye. The size of the moon that appears in front of us is called the ‘Moon Illusion’ and it is determined by how close the Moon is to the horizon; in this case, the moon will be high above the horizon and as such may not appear as big as normal.

When can I see January’s full Wolf Moon?

January’s full Wolf Moon will reach its peak illumination on Friday, January 6, 2023 at 11.09pm (local time).

At a full Moon, the Moon is situated on the opposite side of the Earth to the sun so the face of the Moon facing towards the Earth will be brightened by the sun’s rays.

You can look out for the Moon to rise from the northeastern horizon late evening in the UK.

Why is it called Wolf Moon?

Moon names are used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac and they come from a range of places, including Native American, Colonial American and European sources.

It is believed that January’s full Moon became known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time of the night.

This was a tradition going back centuries and the wolves are thought to have howled due to hunger during the winter season.

Howling and other wolf noises are usually used to define territory, locate their pack, unite socially and coordinate hunting.

Historical names for January include its original Roman equivalent, Ianaurius, the Saxon term Wulf-monath which means ‘wolf month’.