January full moon: Super Wolf Moon near Jupiter and perihelion

 A cool cosmic coincidence kicks off 2026! The first full moon of the year on January 2-3 – a supermoon – will coincide with Earth’s closest approach to the sun, known as perihelion. That means the Earth, the January full moon, and the sun will all be unusually close and aligned as the new year begins. This triple event – closest moon, full moon, closest sun – is rare. A famous example was January 1912. Experts later speculated that a supermoon near the sun’s 1912 perihelion might have dislodged an iceberg that drifted south for several months before striking the Titanic! Will the supermoon and perihelion of 2026 have effects? Watch the video in the player above, or on YouTube. See how these subtle cosmic forces shape our Earth and sky.

Do you find the moon fascinating? EarthSky’s 2026 lunar calendar is available now. Get yours today!

The crest of the full moon falls at 10:03 UTC on January 3. That’s 4:03 a.m. for folks in central North America. So the moon will be at its fullest on the morning of January 3, but it will appear full on both nights, January 2 and 3.

When and where to look in 2026: Look for the bright, round full moon rising in the east before sunset on January 2, 2026. And look for it rising in the east shortly after sunset on January 3. It’ll be glowing nearly overhead around midnight on both nights, and dropping low in the west near sunrise.

This full moon is near Jupiter. The bright star near the moon on January 2 and 3, 2026, isn’t a star. It’s the mighty planet Jupiter, which will reach its biggest and brightest for 2026 just one week after the January 2026 full moon.

This full supermoon coincides with lunar perigee, the moon’s closest point to Earth. But it doesn’t coincide as closely as some other full moons in late 2025. Lunar perigee – a monthly event – for January 2026 comes at 22 UTC on January 1. So this full moon is a supermoon. But it isn’t as close or bright a supermoon as the full Hunter’s Moon of November 5-6, 2025, which was the closest full moon of that year.

This full supermoon also coincides with perihelion, our closest point to the sun. Perihelion comes at 17 UTC on January 3, 2026.

The January full moon is the Wolf Moon and it’s a supermoon. It’ll occur overnight on January 2-3. The crest of the full moon falls at 10:03 UTC on January 3. That’s 4:03 a.m. CST for folks in central North America. So the moon will be at its fullest on the morning of January 3, but it will appear full on both nights, January 2 and 3. It will glow near bright Jupiter and the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux.

The full moon glows near Jupiter

This year, the January full moon will lie near Jupiter, now at its brightest this year. Even though it is close to the very bright full moon, Jupiter is bright enough to be spotted in the moonlight. On the following night, the almost full moon will hang even closer to the bright planet.

A supermoon appears 14% wider than a micromoon.

This January full moon is also a supermoon

January 2026 will see lunar perigee – the point in the moon’s orbit where to comes closest to Earth – occur about 36 hours before when the moon is at its fullest. This means it is a perigean full moon, or what is often called a supermoon. At this point, the moon will lie 225,130 miles (362,312 kilometers) from Earth. For comparison, a more typical full moon is 18,000 miles (29,000 km) farther, putting it at 240,000 miles (390,000 km).

Since it is closer to us on Earth, does a supermoon appear noticeably larger than an ordinary full moon?

While it is true that experienced observers do say they can detect a size difference, you’d have to be a very keen observer to notice it. Truly most of us can’t tell any difference in the size of a supermoon and an ordinary full moon.

But … do super moons look brighter than ordinary full moons? Yes, they do, by a noticeable amount. That’s because a supermoon exceeds the disk size of an average-sized moon by up to 8% and the brightness of an average-sized full moon by some 16%. And then, it exceeds the disk size of a micromoon (a year’s most distant, and, therefore, smallest full moon) up to 14% and the brightness of a micromoon by some 30%. So, if you go outside in the predawn hours of January 3, as well as in the evening before, there is a possibility you’ll notice the full moon is exceptionally bright!

Read more: The moon illusion makes the moon look huge!

January’s full moon near the twin stars of Gemini

The January full moon can lie in front of one of two constellations of the zodiac. If the full moon falls in the first half of the month, as it does this year, it lands in Gemini the Twins. If it happens during the second half, as it will next year, it falls in Cancer the Crab.

The moon is roundest on the day when it is full, but it appears almost but not quite full the day before and after. On the evening of this January’s full moon, the twin stars of Gemini, Castor (the dimmer one) and Pollux – and Jupiter – will shine nearby. However, the bright moonlight might make these two famous stars too dim to see. If you can’t spot them, rest assured, they are still there!

The January 2026 full moon will occur overnight on January 2-3. It’ll lie in the constellation Gemini near its twin stars Castor and Pollux, and bright Jupiter. The trio will form a triangle on the sky.

January’s full moon is the Wolf Moon

All full moons have popular nicknames. January’s full moon is often called the Wolf Moon because, in parts of the world where they live, wolves are active in January and often howl on cold nights. Other names derived from North American indigenous peoples also refer to January’s cold. They include the Cold Moon, Frost Exploding Moon, Freeze Up Moon, and Hard Moon.

Early January full moon and the June sun

Every full moon stays – more or less – opposite the sun. The moon’s path roughly follows the sun’s daytime path from six months ago, and six months hence.

In the Northern Hemisphere, you can see this happening as you watch the early January full moon rise to almost the top of the sky near midnight. Because this full moon happens to fall closer to the December solstice than the one in December 2025, it rises almost to the top of the sky, higher than other full moons.

High arc across the sky of the early January full moon closely matches that of the June sun. The low arc of the early January sun closely matches that of the June full moon.

For the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the same effect, but reversed. Since it’s early summer there, this full moon rides low in the sky as the December sun rides high.

The high arc across the sky of the early January full moon closely matches that of the June sun. The low arc of the early January sun closely matches that of the June full moon.

Tracing the high path of the early January full moon

You can experiment with the path of the sun and moon. Simply trace a line with your finger from east to west along a low arc above the southern horizon to emulate the sun’s early January path. Then trace another path high overhead to mimic the full moon’s path in early January. And you’ll see that the higher path will be much longer than the lower one.

The monthly paths come into balance

Little by little, we can watch the two paths come back into balance. Each month until June, the full moon will cross the sky at a slightly lower arc than the previous month. And each successive full moon takes less time than the previous one to cross the sky. Since this month’s full moon is closest to the December solstice, it rises the highest. At March’s full moon, which is near the Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox, the two paths – of the moon and of the sun – will nearly be the same.

Then, near the June solstice, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere see the sun cross high overhead during the year’s longest days. And, during the short northern summer late spring and early summer nights, we see the full moon cross lower and spend less time in the sky.

And the cycle continues.

Bottom line: The 2026 January full Wolf Moon, a supermoon, falls on January 3 at 10:03 (4:03 a.m. CST). So the moon will be at its fullest on the morning of January 3. And it’ll appear full on both nights, January 2 and 3. It’s near the planet Jupiter and the stars Castor and Pollux.

https://earthsky.org/tonight/january-full-moon-is-the-wolf-moon/?mc_cid=ee8ff1818f&mc_eid=16f42cfc77

John Jardine Goss

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About the Author:

“I can sometimes see the moon in the daytime” was a cosmic revelation that John Jardine Goss first discovered through personal observations at age 6. It shook his young concept of the universe and launched his interest in astronomy and stargazing, a fascination he still holds today. John is past president of the Astronomical League, the largest U.S. federation of astronomical societies, with over 24,000 members. He's earned the title of Master Observer and is a regular contributor to the video series, “Global Star Party.” He has authored the celestial observing guides “Exploring the Starry Realm,” and “Carpe Lunam,” and “Take Your First Steps, an Introduction to Amateur Astronomy.” John also wrote for twenty years the monthly stargazing column, Roanoke Skies, for the Roanoke Times, and currently writes a bimonthly column, Skywatch, for Blue Ridge Country magazine. He has contributed to Sky and Telescope magazine, the IDA Nightscape, the Astronomical League’s Reflector magazine, and the RASC Observer’s Handbook.