Every once in a blue moon we get to experience our first full ice moon. Luckily for astronomers and space lovers, this year’s full “Wolf Moon” will be one-hundred percent visible on January 17 at 6:48 p.m. A pretty special occasion also happening on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
According to Live Science, the Farmer’s Almanac named it “Wolf Moon,” and the naked eye will be able to see it for three days straight. Furthermore, you can watch it shine from Monday evening to Wednesday morning this week. With all the winter weather the U.S. has faced, the Ice Moon name is very fitting.
How to Watch the Year’s First Full Ice Moon Rise
May sound obvious, but going outside would be the first major step. And there are a few more steps you should know in order to get the best view. According to the Forbes outlet, the best time to look at the “Wolf Moon” is at sunrise and sunset. This gives the moon its orangish color when the moon is closer to the horizon.
Forbes also provided a list of the exact time the moon will rise in three popular cities. Here are the best viewing times in three major cities:
- New York City: 4:32 p.m. EST on Monday, January 17. The sunset occurs at 4:47 p.m. here.
- Los Angeles, California: 4:58 p.m. PST on Monday, January 17. The sunset is at 5:01 p.m. here.
- London: 3:32 p.m. GMT on Monday, January 17, and at 4:39 p.m. on Tuesday, January 18. The sunset occurs around 4:20 p.m. in this city.
Recently, NASA reported what people will see on the morning of January 17, 2022.
“On the morning of January 17, 2022, the day of the full moon, as morning twilight begins at 6:23 a.m. EST, the bright planet Venus will appear 2 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon and the fainter planet Mars will appear 10 degrees above the southeastern horizon.”
Why the Month of January Gets the Wolf Moon Name
Every moon gets a name for itself. For instance, the full sturgeon moon, or the “Blue Moon” is referred to as the “August Blue Moon.”
“Wolf Moon” came from packs of wolves howling upon winter in January. But you’re probably wondering, “Don’t wolves howl all year round?” Well, people originally thought wolves howled because of the cold. But that isn’t the case. Wolves howl to communicate within their packs, but the name just stuck.
Besides “Wolf Moon,” it has many other names. According to NASA, the Maine Farmer’s Almanac began giving the moon Native American names in the 1930s.
NASA describes the Moon after Yule name as a three-day winter solstice festival in pre-Christian Europe. In other words, they provided a name for this in English, which is the Old Moon.
