The first full moon in the year 2023 reached its full moon on Friday evening, January 6, when it will reach its farthest point from Earth in its orbit.
Because the Moon’s path around our planet is elliptical, at its closest approach, called perihelion, it is 225,291 miles (362,570 km) away. At its farthest distance, called the aphelion, the Moon is 251,910 miles (405,410 km) away from us.
Perigee and aphelion do not always coincide with the full moon, but when they do, it produces two events known as a “super moon” (when the moon is at perigee) and a “mini full moon” (when the moon is at aphelion).
Supermoons appear 14.5 percent larger and 25 percent brighter in the sky than the mini full moon, according to the University Space Research Association (USRA).
It is noteworthy that the full moon on January 6 is the first full moon of the new year, and the first full moon after the winter solstice. It will be visible this weekend in the night sky.
Badr Yanar bears the name “Moon of the Wolf” which is believed to refer to the fact that wolves are usually active at this time of the year. There is no universal consensus, but many sources say that the full moon took its name from the howling of hungry wolves.
The names of the full moons are believed to come from a mixture of Native American, Anglo-Saxon, and German month names.
The moon will reach its highest point at 11:07 pm GMT on January 6.
Full moons occur when the sun, earth and moon are aligned so that the sun’s rays illuminate the entire Earth-facing side of the moon.
The moon remains above or slightly below the Earth’s shadow, allowing this illumination. On occasions when the full moon passes through part of the earth’s shadow or all of the earth’s shadow, it creates an eclipse of the moon.
The full moon comes a few days after the peak of the Quadrantids Meteor Shower, which graced Earth’s sky from January 2 to January 3. The meteor showers will continue until January 16, but at a very low frequency.
The next full moon is known as the Snow Moon, and it will happen on Sunday, February 5, 2023.