JANUARY’S FULL “WOLF” MOON PLUS CONJUNCTION OF THE MOON + MARS! 13-14/01/25

On the evening of the 13th of January into the morning of the 14th, we will hopefully be treated to views of a beautiful full moon, weather permitting of course.

Although the full Moon may not be the astronomers or astrophotographers best of friends (unless you are wanting to observe/photograph the Moon!), the full Moon always makes for a beautiful sight in the night sky and is an important marker of the seasons for many people.

January’s full Moon will also appear particularly high in the sky, reaching 60 degrees high above the horizon. This is due to the Moon being at one of its most extreme points in a 18.6 year orbital cycle, a period of time known as a “Lunar Standstill” or “Lunistice”.

As well as appearing higher in the sky, the Moon will also be paying an extremely close visit to the amazing red planet Mars and a conjunction between the two luminaries will occur in the early morning hours of the 14th.

If you would like more information on this January’s full Wolf Moon, including when the Moon meets Mars, what a full moon and Lunar Standstill/Lunistice is, why it is known as the Wolf moon, when and where to look to find the moon, plus other celestial treats to look out for, please read on…

A full Moon occurs when its position in its orbit around Earth is at its furthest distance from the Sun (almost on the opposite side of the Earth compared to the Sun). When this happens, the side of the Moon that can be seen from Earth is completely illuminated, giving it the appearance of being full. 

A Lunar Standstill/Lunistice is a period of time in an 18.6-year orbital cycle of the Moon when the Moon rises and sets at more northernly or southernly points along the horizon than usual. This is effect is caused by the Earth’s, Moon’s and Ecliptic’s axial and orbital relationship.

The Solar system plane (the path that all the planets orbits follow) is flat (like a disc), this plane is known as the Ecliptic. The Earth’s axis (centre of rotation) is tilted at 23.4 degrees in relation to the ecliptic. This tilt causes the Sun to appear higher or lower in the sky, varies the amount of time it is visible and causes it to rise/set in more northernly/southernly locations throughout the year. The Moons orbit is tilted by 5.1 degrees in relation to the ecliptic, and due to this tilt in its orbit can appear to rise/set in more northernly/southernly locations throughout an 18.6 year cycle.

Due to this effect, during a Lunar Standstill period the Moon will appear much higher or lower in the sky than usual.

Lunar Standstills do not necessarily occur on a particular date but rather over a period of 2 years around the extremes of the 18.6 year cycle. The Current Lunar Standstill period will peak in June 2025, but there are certain periods of time when this effect can be more easily seen. Tonight’s full Cold Moon may be a good time to view this effect.

Often full Moon names derive their names from Native American traditions, which typically gave distinctions to the Moon based on the time of the year, the weathers relationship to crop harvests and the appearance of certain animals. The Native Americans would keep track of time by observing the seasons and Lunar months. These names were often passed down through the generations and these names were traditionally applied to refer to the entire lunar month.   

The Full Moon for the month of January is often called the Wolf Moon. It is thought that January’s full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time. It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but we know today that wolves howl for different reasons. Howling and other wolf vocalizations are generally used to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting.

Other names used for Januarys full Moon include the Centre Moon. Used by the Assiniboine people of the Northern Great Plains, it refers to the idea that this Moon roughly marks the middle of the cold season. 

Other various January moon names emphasize the harsh coldness of the season such as: The Cold Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Moon (Cree), Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin), and Severe Moon (Dakota). 

The name the Hard Moon (Dakota) highlights the phenomenon of the fallen snow developing a hard crust. 

January's full moon has also been called the Canada Goose Moon (Tlingit), Great Moon (Cree), Greetings Moon (Western Abenaki), and Spirit Moon (Ojibwe). 

This month the full Moon will reach max illumination (99.9% illuminated) around 22:30 on the 13th of January. The Moon will rise on the afternoon of January the 13th at roughly 15:01 in the Northeast, it will then begin to climb higher in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest point in the sky at about 60 degrees high at around 00:18. The Moon will then begin to descend towards the North-West where it will set at roughly 09:13 on the morning of the 16th of December.

Remember that you don’t really need to know the exact time of peak illumination to enjoy viewing the full Moon, the Moon will appear full all throughout the night and on the nights surrounding the peak.

On the night of the 13th of January, our natural satellite can be found be hitching a ride in the zodiacal constellation of Gemini the twins.

The moon can more specifically be located fairly close by to the bright star Pollux of Gemini, On this evening the Moon will also be found very close by to the planet Mars.

The night of the 13th into the morning of the 14th will also host another special celestial event.

Not long after the Moon reaches max illumination, during the early morning hours of the 14th, the full Moon will appear to pay an extremely close visit to the amazing red planet Mars.

Throughout the night of the 13th into the morning of the 14th you will be able to watch the Moon travel closer and closer to the red planet until at around 04:30 the Moon and Mars will make their closest approach to each other in our early morning sky. At this moment in time, the Moon will appear to touch the red planet Mars when viewed by eye. If you take a closer look with binoculars or a telescope you may be able to see the Moon and Mars separated by only 10 arcminutes (1/6th of a degree).

The great thing about observing the Moon is that we don’t have to go and find a particularly dark location to view it. As the Moon is such a bright object in the sky, we can watch it from wherever we are, even from the centre of a heavily light polluted city. Weather permitting of course. 

It's always lovely to watch the moon rise/set, so if you can head out to witness the moon rise, please do. Every time the moon rises it takes on a beautiful golden, amber colour and appears larger at this time too, due to an optical illusion known as the ‘Moon illusion’. It's truly special to witness. As it rises and glides overhead it’s colour will transition into a bright white.

Sometimes the Moon can appear even more orangey red than usual too! The hue of the moon typically depends on atmospheric conditions wherever you’re viewing it from. Things like clouds, dust, haze, smoke or pollution can cause the moon to appear different colours by scattering much of the blue light shining on to our natural satellite, leaving it with a more reddish tone. 

There are many other celestial treats in our night skies at this moment in time, here is a small selection of amazing night sky sights to look out for:

- There are several minor meteor showers active at the moment including the December Leonis Minorids. This means that you may have a chance of seeing some meteors (aka shooting stars) blaze across the night sky.

- Nearby to the Moon, all the beautiful winter constellations including the distinct constellation Orion plus the large asterism known as the “Winter Circle” can be seen towards the South.

- The beautiful open star cluster the Pleaides (aka the Seven Sisters) can be found in the zodiacal constellation of Taurus the bull very close by to the bright planet Jupiter.

- The winter Milky Way in all its glory can be seen stretching all the way across the sky. The moonlight will make the Milky Way difficult to see whilst producing so much light, however it's certainly something to look out for at this time of year, especially when the moon is not brightening our skies.

- The amazing Andromeda Galaxy can be spotted to the eye as a small faint elliptical fuzzy in the constellation of Andromeda.

- We are still in the Aurora season and the Northern Lights may be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity. Typically, the bright Moon tends to wash the aurora out, however occasionally there are displays that are so strong they are visible despite the moonlight.

As well as the red planet Mars that will be with the Moon all night on the 13th, January is a great time to spot the other bright planets…

- The brilliantly bright planet Venus can currently be easily seen shining brightly at an impressive magnitude of -4.28 towards the West in the early evening around and after sunset. Venus will become visible just before the Sun sets at around 15:30 towards the South and will descend towards the West where it will set at around 20:34.

- The amazing ringed planet Saturn can be found in the constellation of Aquarius the water bearer very close by to Venus. Saturn will become visible as the skies become darker following sunset and will set in the west at around 20:59. 

- The gas giant Jupiter will be visible in the constellation of Taurus and will become visible towards the East shortly after Venus appears in the twilight sky. Jupiter will be easily visible all night long shining very brightly at magnitude -2.5. Jupiter will climb in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest in the sky about 57 degrees high at around 21:10. Jupiter will then begin to descend towards the North-West where it will set in the morning twilight at around 05:28. 

If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen throughout January, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide video for January 2025.

This month’s full Wolf Moon will be a beautiful sight, and the lunar/planetary conjunction between the Moon and Mars will make it an even more special occasion! So if you can, we recommend heading out to witness this January’s full Moon!

Clear skies 💖