If you’re a fan of stargazing, make sure you block off this evening in your diary.
A Full Wolf Moon is set to light up skies around the world – and you don’t want to miss it.
A full moon is as close as we come to seeing the sun’s illumination of the entire day side of the moon.
The moon will be opposite the sun, as viewed from Earth, revealing our lunar satellite’s day side.
The celestial event will technically peak at 22:27 GMT tonight, but you don’t need to worry about setting an alarm, as the moon will appear full and bright for several days.
‘The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time,’ NASA explained.
‘From Sunday evening (and possibly the last part of Sunday morning) into Wednesday morning.’
What’s more, a once-in-a-lifetime comet is set to become visible in the night sky tonight – yet another reason to have your eyes to the skies.
If you’re a fan of stargazing, make sure you block off this evening in your diary. A Full Wolf Moon is set to light up skies around the world – and you don’t want to miss it
The celestial event will technically peak at 22:27 GMT tonight, but you don’t need to worry about setting an alarm, as the moon will appear full and bright for several days
The moon has eight lunar phases, which repeat on a cycle around once a month (every 29.5 days).
These are, in order: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent.
‘Like Earth, the Moon has a day side and a night side, which change as the Moon rotates,’ NASA explained.
‘The Sun always illuminates half of the Moon while the other half remains dark, but how much we are able to see of that illuminated half changes as the Moon travels through its orbit.’
According to the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, the January full moon is the ‘Wolf Moon’, in reference to the packs of wolves heard howling outside villages at this time of year.
However, you’ll also hear it called the Ice Moon, the Old Moon, and the Moon after Yule.
What makes this Full Wolf Moon particularly special is the fact that it will pass in front of Mars – rendering the usually bright planet invisible in the night sky from some countries.
‘On the night of the full Moon, for most of the continental USA as well as parts of Africa, Canada, and Mexico, the Moon will pass in front of the planet Mars,’ NASA explained.
The moon has eight lunar phases, which repeat on a cycle around once a month (every 29.5 days)
What’s more, a once-in-a-lifetime comet will become visible for the first time in 160,000 today.
The comet, called C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), was discovered by the ATLAS survey sytem, and has been slowly approaching the inner solar system.
Current calculations indicate that it will make its closest approach to the sun today at a distance of about 8.3 million miles.
While that might sound far away, it’s acutally relatively close – with astronomers dubbing the comet a ‘sun-skirter’.
Dr Shyam Balaji, a researcher in astroparticle physics and cosmology at King’s College London, said: ‘The comet is expected to make its closest approach to the Sun (known as the perihelion) around January 13, 2025.
‘However, as with all comets, its visibility and brightness can be unpredictable.
‘Observers may have opportunities to spot it in the days around perihelion, depending on local conditions and the comet’s behaviour.’
The phases of the moon
Like Earth, the Moon has a day side and a night side, which change as the Moon rotates.
The Sun always illuminates half of the Moon while the other half remains dark, but how much we are able to see of that illuminated half changes as the Moon travels through its orbit.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the phases of the moon are:
1. New Moon
This is the invisible phase of the Moon, with the illuminated side of the Moon facing the Sun and the night side facing Earth.
2. Waxing crescent
This silver sliver of a Moon occurs when the illuminated half of the Moon faces mostly away from Earth, with only a tiny portion visible to us from our planet.
3. First Quarter
The Moon is now a quarter of the way through its monthly journey and you see half of its illuminated side.
4. Waxing Gibbous
Now most of the Moon’s dayside has come into view, and the Moon appears brighter in the sky.
5. Full Moon
This is as close as we come to seeing the Sun’s illumination of the entire day side of the Moon.
6. Waning Gibbous
As the Moon begins its journey back toward the Sun, the opposite side of the Moon now reflects the Moon’s light.
7. Last Quarter
The Moon looks like it’s half illuminated from the perspective of Earth, but really you’re seeing half of the half of the Moon that’s illuminated by the Sun ― or a quarter.
8. Waning Crescent
The Moon is nearly back to the point in its orbit where its dayside directly faces the Sun, and all that we see from our perspective is a thin curve.
