The first full moon of the new year, January's Wolf Moon, rose at 6:08 pm local time last night. At the same time, the moon will be on the far side of
Earth and close to its furthest from the Earth, making it a "micromoon,"
the opposite of a supermoon.
Though this does make a difference to how large and bright the moon appears, this difference is so small that it is virtually imperceptible to the naked eye. I took the image above around 10:30.
Old Farmer's Almanac states that the name for January's full moon, the Wolf Moon arises due to the fact it was seen at times of the year when wolves could be howling outside villages as a result of hunger. Alternative names for the January full moon are the "Old Moon," the suitably wintery monikers the "Frost Moon" and the "Snow Moon" all of which arise from Native American traditions. The name "Snow Moon" is now more commonly associated with February's full moon which next occurs on Feb. 5, 2023.
Which is probably more than you wanted to know about this first full moon of 2023.
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