The first full moon of 2026 and also of the winter in the Northern Hemisphere will shine brightly this week, right when the Earth is closest to the Sun in the year.
Saturday, January 3rd, is the day the first full moon of 2026 takes place. The full moon of January is called the wolf moon, forecast to be fullest at 5:02 AM on January 3rd, EST time (ie 5:02 PM on the same day, Vietnam time).
The first full moon in January 2026 was also a "supermoon", meaning the moon was brighter and larger than normal.
According to Old Farmer's Almanac, the full moon of January is named wolf moon because wolves are heard more often at this time of year.
Other native American names for January full moon include cold moon, frosty moon...
In Europe, the full moon of January is often called the moon after the Yule festival - an ancient festival that lasts from December 21st to January 1st.
The best time to see a super wolf moon is when the moon rises on January 3rd. At that time, the moon will appear between a star and a very bright planet. On the left of the super wolf moon is Pollux, a bright star in the constellation Gemini, and on the right is Jupiter.
In just 1 week, Jupiter will reach the brightest point that astronomers can observe in 2026.
Because this is the closest full moon to the winter solstice of December 21, the super wolf moon will also create the highest arc in the night sky compared to any other full moon, when viewed from the Northern Hemisphere.
Super wolf moon is also the 4th consecutive supermoon, although this supermoon is not particularly large. The next supermoon in 2026 after super wolf moon is November.
Super wolf moon is also a super full moon close to the near-lunar point, the closest point to Earth. When the moon is full on January 3, the Moon will be 362,312km from Earth.
The clash is super wolf moon appearing when the Earth approaches its near-lunar point, the closest point to the Sun, when the distance is 147.1 million km, while the average distance is 150 million km.
After the super wolf moon, the next full moon in 2026 is the snow moon on February 1st.
