Wolf Moon 2023: When will the Wolf Moon peak in January? What is a Wolf Moon? List of full moons in 2023

Full moons grace us every month but in January we will enjoy the lunar event known as a ‘Wolf Moon’, here’s what that means and when it will peak.

Want to see the ‘Wolf Moon’ of January at its peak? It will take place today and become the first full moon of 2023 as the Earth’s satellite moves into a position that directly opposes the sun. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s ‘Wolf Moon’ like when you can see it at its brightest.

When is the Wolf Moon in 2023?

The next full moon or ‘Wolf Moon’ will reach its peak at 11.07pm on Friday, January 26 according to Royal Museums Greenwich. This time applies to the UK however when the full moon rises and sets depends on where you are on the planet.

The full moon rises behind Edinburgh Castle.

What is a Wolf Moon?

According to the Space website, the January full moon is often called a 'Wolf Moon’ as it dates back to ancient times when hungry wolves would howl outside human settlements at this time of year. It is thought that many native American tribes and medieval Europeans stuck to this name for that reason yet it’s not clear where the name first came from.

Why do full moons have different names?

Full moon names are often attributed to Native American tribes that would give full moons nicknames to keep track of them as they didn’t record time using months found in the Julian or Gregorian calendar. Most of the names were linked to a specific event, for example this wolf moon is associated with the presence of howling wolves nearby their camps at this time.

The 'Wolf Moon' is called as such as it refers to times when howling wolves would make their presence known outside of human settlements at this time.

Other moons like the blood moon were thought to be caused by Jaguars who attacked the moon and left it bleeding hence the red colour. These lunar systems and their names differed between tribes but as Farmer’s Almanac reports it seems Colonial Americans adopted some of these names and incorporated them into their own calendar systems.

When are the other full moons of 2023?

Here’s a full list of full moons in 2023:

February 5 - ‘Snow Moon’

March 7 - ‘Worm Moon’

April 6 - ‘Pink Moon’

May 5 - ‘Flower Moon’

June 4 - ‘Strawberry Moon’

July 3 - ‘Buck Moon’

August 1 - ‘Sturgeon Moon’

August 31 – ‘Blue Moon’

September 29 - ‘Harvest Moon’

October 28 - ‘Hunter’s Moon’

November 27 - ‘Beaver Moon’

December 27 - ‘Cold Moon’