January Full Moon: Watch Mars disappear behind the full wolf moon

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Keep an eye on the sky Monday night for the Wolf Moon, the first full moon of the year. And some sky-gazers will be able to glimpse a cosmic magic trick when the moon appears to pass in front of Mars.

The full moon will be at peak illumination at 5:27 p.m. ET Monday, but will appear full by Wednesday morning, according to NASA.

Viewers in most of the continental United States, eastern Canada, and parts of Africa and Mexico can look for a celestial triangle in the sky as evening twilight ends at 18.11 ET. Mars will appear just to the lower left of the moon, while the bright star Pollux will be a few degrees to the upper left of the moon, according to NASA.

The times for the moon to pass in front of Mars will vary, so be sure to check your favorite sky viewing app. For those on the US East Coast, Mars will disappear behind the base of the Moon around 9:16 PM ET and reappear behind the moon in the upper right at 10:31 PM ET.

January’s full moon is commonly called the wolf moon because wolves are active at this time of year and can be heard howling on cold winter nights, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The origin of the name comes from the Sioux language, which describes this moon as “wolves running together.”

But this wintry full moon also passes other monikers. It is known as the Cold Moon to the Cherokee people, the Hard Moon to the Lakota, and the Whirling Wind Moon to the Passamaquoddy tribe. European names also include the ice moon, the old moon, or the moon after Christmas, originally a three- to 12-day festival that took place in pre-Christian Europe near the winter solstice, according to NASA.

January’s full moon also coincides with the beginning of the Hindu pilgrimage and 44-day festival Prayag Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years in the Indian city of Prayagraj.

The full moon will be visible around the world, weather permitting. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, bundle up to stay warm and enjoy the view.

After Mars does its disappearing trick behind the moon, look for the red planet to appear closest and brightest on Wednesday. During January, Mars is at resistancemeaning it is directly opposite the sun from Earth’s vantage point. As the two planets move along their orbits, the Earth will be between Mars and the Sun.

The Red Planet will shine brightly every evening, according to NASA. Look for it in the east every night, as well as in the northwest at dawn.

Mars isn’t the only planet watching this month. Sky-gazers can look forward to catching a glimpse of four bright planets at the same time in the night sky.

Venus and Saturn will appear in the southwest, Jupiter will shine overhead, and Mars will appear to rise in the east. The planets appear to rotate westward around the bright star Polaris and will be visible each night beginning in the early evening.

Venus and Saturn will slowly appear to come close together in the night sky during what is called the Venus and Saturn conjunction, even though they are hundreds of millions of miles apart. The two planets will appear closest to each other on Friday and Saturday due to the location of their orbits around the sun.

Uranus and Neptune will also be visible, though using binoculars or telescopes, according to EarthSky.

While some may be quick to call this a parade a special alignment of the planets that is nothing unusual about it – although it is less common to see four or five bright planets in the night sky at once.

Planets always appear along a line in the sky because they all orbit the sun in a mostly flat plane called the ecliptic.

“Planets in our solar system, when visible, are always in a line because they follow the sun’s path – the ecliptic – across our sky. But they are not in a line that stretches out, one behind the other, from the sun, into the 3-dimensional space,” according to EarthSky.

So enjoy the spectacle as bright planets appear to march across the night sky this month, and if you want to see even more, you can set up a telescope and possibly see moons around some of these neighboring worlds.

Check out the following events happening in our skies to add to your calendar.

February 12: Snow Moon

March 14: Worm Moon

April 12: Pink Moon

May 12: Flower Moon

June 11: Strawberry Moon

July 10: Capricorn Moon

August 9: Sturgeon Moon

September 7: Corn Moon

October 6: Harvest Moon

November 5: Beaver Moon

December 4: Cold Moon

Solar and lunar eclipses

In 2025 there will be two partial solar eclipses. A partial solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and Earth, but neither celestial body is perfectly aligned, according to NASA.
Unlike during a total solar eclipse, the moon blocks only part of the sun’s face, creating a crescent shape where the moon appears to take a “bite” out of the sun.

The first partial solar eclipse will occur on March 29 and will be visible in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America.

The second partial solar eclipse will occur on September 21 and will be visible over parts of Australia and Antarctica, as well as some islands in the Pacific Ocean.

There will also be two total lunar eclipses that occur during the full moon events in March and September. A lunar eclipse, which makes the moon appear dark or dim, occurs when the Earth is between the sun and the moon and the three celestial bodies line up so that the moon passes into our planet’s shadow.

When the moon is within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra, it takes on a reddish hue, which has led to the nickname “blood moon” for a lunar eclipse, according to NASA. That shadow isn’t perfect, so faint rays of sunlight creep around the edges of the shadow on all sides in a sunset hue, bathing the moon in brilliant, warm hues.

The first total lunar eclipse will be visible between the 13th and 14th. March and cross over Western Europe, parts of Asia, parts of Australia, West Africa, North and South America and Antarctica. The second total lunar eclipse will occur on the 7th-8th. September and be visible from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, parts of eastern South America, Alaska and Antarctica.

Check the Tid og Datos website for see when each of these eclipses will appear and the places that will be able to see them.

Here are top dates for upcoming annual meteor showers, according to American Meteor Society.

Lyrids: 21.-22. April

Eta Aquariids: 3.-4. May

Southern Delta Aquariids: 29-30 July

Alpha Capricorn: 29-30. July

Perseids: 12.-13. August

Draconids: 8.-9. October

Orionids: 22.-23. October

Southern Taurids: 3.-4. November

Northern Taurids: 8.-9. November

Leonidas: 16.-17. November

Geminids: 12.-13. December

Clock pages: 21.-22. December