January Full Moon 2025: Wolf Moon

The Wolf Moon in January 2025 will be the first Full Moon this year. The exact time of the Full Wolf Moon is January 13, 22:27 GMT (5:27 p.m. ET). At this moment, the Moon will reach its peak brightness, shining with a magnitude of -12.5. It will be in the constellation Gemini. Our natural satellite is the brightest object in the night sky and is very easy to observe even without special equipment. The lunar disk will look full to the naked eye for several days, starting around January 12.

it will occur in the constellation Gemini.

Before the Full Moon, on January 12, the Moon will be in the constellation Auriga. Then, it will move into the constellation Gemini during the night of January 12-13. At the exact moment of the Full Moon, the Moon will be in Gemini near Mars and the bright star Pollux. The night after the Full Moon, on January 14, the Moon will move into the constellation Cancer.

Full Moon inside the Winter Hexagon
From January 11 to 14, our natural satellite will be passing through the Winter Hexagon asterism, which is composed of six stars: Sirius from Canis Major, Procyon from Canis Minor, Rigel from Orion, Aldebaran from Taurus, Pollux from Gemini, and Capella from Auriga.

Full Moon near Pollux
On January 13, at 21:45 GMT (4:45 p.m. ET), the Full Moon will meet Pollux (mag 1.2) – the brightest star in the constellation Gemini. Both objects can be seen with the naked eye, so you will easily find the bright dot near the Moon.

Full Moon on a peak night of Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)
On January 13, Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) will reach its closest approach to both the Sun and Earth, potentially brightening to an impressive magnitude of -4 (as bright as Venus) or even -7 (visible during the day). While the Full Moon occurs the same night, it won’t interfere with comet observations since the two will be positioned far apart in the sky.

Full Moon hides Mars
On January 14, from 01:44 GMT (January 13, 8:44 p.m. ET) to 05:53 GMT (00:53 a.m. ET), the Moon will obscure Mars. This meeting is extra special because Mars is approaching its best visibility until 2031! The occultation will be observable from North and South America and Africa.

Other regions will see the Moon close to Mars, which is also quite a spectacular event! The closest approach (up to 0°12') will occur at 03:48 GMT (10:48 p.m. ET). The Red Planet will shine brightly with a magnitude of -1.4, and the Moon will still appear full to the naked eye.

On January 16, Mars reaches the opposition to the Sun, when it will be fully illuminated and visible throughout the night. Mars will not be brighter until 2031!

Full Moon near the Beehive Cluster
On January 14, at 21:03 GMT (4:03 p.m. ET), the Moon will be near the Beehive Cluster (mag 3.1) in the constellation Cancer. Under the dark skies, the cluster is visible to the naked eye as a blurry patch of light, but it’s best to observe the event with binoculars.