January Night Sky

01.09.20 photo

According to Native American tradition January's full moon is named after howling wolves and is remembered as the Wolf Moon.  

View it the evening of January 6 beginning 5:09 PM.  Look for it to rise above the northeast horizon around sunset.

In other cultures this is called the Old Moon, Snow Moon, Ice Moon or Moon after Yule.  

 

The moon this month is also known as a Micromoon - the opposite of a Supermoon as it appears smaller than normal.  This is a consequence of the moon being further from earth than is typical.  How can this be?  The moon orbits the earth in an elliptical path and when it is at its furthest it is at apogee.  Specifically, 252,600 miles away.

And so it begins - if you like clear skies and howling at the moon - 2023 is going to deliver a bakers dozen of 13 full moons.  I'll make an effort to post a heads-up on these lunar phenomena; and you may wish to bookmark this link so you don’t miss anything.   

Fingers-crossed for cold, clear winter sky-gazing tonight. 

Cheers!