Full Moon – Travel Smart With Jodie

Wolf Moon

If your sky is clear tonight you are likely to see what looks like a full moon. It actually is at peak illumination tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 23,2025 at 4:22 p.m. CST, (2227 UTC according to the U.S. Naval Observatory) but it looks full the day before and day after that.

This full moon is called the Wolf Moon. It is also known as the Moon after Yule and the Ice Moon. A note on the NASA Science site says the January moon is “the start of Prayag Kumbh Mela; Shakambhari Purnima; Paush Purnima; the Thiruvathira, Thiruvathirai, or Arudhra Darisanam festival Moon; and Duruthu Poya.”

If you like to gaze at the sky or look for planets you should also note that the full Wolf Moon will pass in front of Mars but first watch for its rising in the eastern horizon around sunset. To find out when to see the January full moon check Moonrise Calculator.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists other names for the January Moon. And yes, the names apply to the whole lunar month, not just when it is full.

Here are some of those names: Cold Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Moon (Cree) and Great Moon (Cree). There is also Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin), Severe Moon (Dakota). Hard Moon (Dakota), Canada Goose Moon (Tlingit), Greetings Moon (Western Abenaki) and Spirit Moon (Ojibwe).

Since many full names reflect the season or weather the question is why “Wolf Moon?”

Wolves are thought to do more howling in January (winter) to find pack members, coordinate hunting and define their territory.

For more January Full Moon info click on The Next Full Moon is the Wolf Moon – NASA Science, Wolf Moon: Full Moon in January 2025 | The Old Farmer’s Almanac, January full moon 2025: The Wolf Moon hides Mars | Space.

Catch falling stars but note full moon

Look up,the Geminids are here. They will be around until Dec. 24 in 2024, but they peak December 13-15.

Flying across the sky at about 120 to 150 per hour, the Geminids are among the best meteor showers of the year.

Instead of seeming to come from (known as the radiant) a comet, the Geminids are from the 3200 Phaethon which is an asteroid. That’s the good news.

Not so good is that December’s full moon, called the Cold Moon, will be lighting up the sky at the same time. It looks full Dec. 13-16 but reaches full illumination the morning of Dec. 15.

The problem is the full moon really will lite up not just the sky but your landscape making it hard to catch the Geminids. EarthSky has a couple of suggestions to counter the full moon including looking for a spot that is in shadow.

The moon’s”Cold” name reflects the weather at this time of year. However, it is also called the Long Night Moon because of its proximity to the winter solstice, Dec. 21. You’ll probably notice the morning starts darker now and night comes quickly.

For more info go to EarthSky, Time and Date and Old Farmer’s Almanac

November moon is the Beaver

If you have had a clear night sky this past weekend and have been looking up you may have noticed that the moon before it was even full has been looming large. The November full moon is the last of the season’s four Supermoons.

Likely you remember that Supermoons look larger because they are closer to Earth than the other full moons. That would be within the 90 percent range of its closest orbital point.

To see it at its full illumination, check it out at 4:29 p.m. EDT on Nov. 15, (2024). Of course, as usual, it will appear full the day before and the day after.

The November full moon is known as the “Beaver Moon” because that animal is beginning to move into the lodge it has constructed where it has stored food for the winter.

Other November full moon names refer to other animal activities and the weather in Native American lore such as the Digging and Deer Rutting Moon or the Frost or Freezing Moon.

For more information visit Space and Old Farmer’s Almanac.

October Supermoon

October’s full moon, which is at full illumination on the 17th of the month, will be the year’s best Supermoon. It will look full Oct 16-19 and rise about the same time each night.

It will also appear brighter than past moons and its longer time lighting the sky has made it a good time for hunting but also a time to finish harvesting. BTW the October Moon is called the Hunter’s Moon. The September moon, a lunar cycle earlier was called the Harvest Moon.

“Super” as in Supermoon, is for what looks like its larger than usual size. That illusion is when its orbit, which is oval, brings it closer to Earth. That point is called its perigee. The Moon’s farthest point is its apogee

“Closer,” means 222,058 miles from Earth (357,367 kilometers). In comparison, September’s Supermoon on Sept. 18 was large but its perigee was 222,132 miles (357,486) from Earth.

Watch for the Hunter’s Moon on the horizon when the sun goes down but its peak illumination came already at 6:26 a.m., CT, Thursday.

For more information visit Time and Date and Old Farmer’s Almanac

A lunar eclipse and a minimoon in September

September’s sky may tease viewers.

Calling it a temporary, mini-moon, Earthsky says a tiny, 33 ft asteroid, will leave the Sun’s orbit to orbit around Earth for about two months until the Sun’s gravity pulls it back.

That’s the fun look-up news. The caveat is that this mini-moon asteroid will be so dim that earthlings will have a hard time seeing it.

On to September’s Full Moon which will be at full illumination at 10:34 p.m. ET on Sept.17. It will also appear full on Sept. 16-18 and rise at the same time each of those nights.

Called the “Harvest Moon,” the good news is that it is a Supermoon meaning it will appear larger than usual though it really isn’t. The apparent size is related to how close the Moon is to Earth.

The somewhat bad news is that the Earth, Moon and Sun will be in a line. Space, is saying to expect a partial eclipse because the Moon will partially be in Earth’s shadow. Go to Space Full Moon Eclipse to watch it.

Earth/Sky says it will be a penumbral eclipse. Also check out their watch party at Earth/Sky.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the September Moon can also be called the “Corn Moon” depending on whether it comes closer to the Fall Equinox Sept. 22-23, than the October Moon.

Jodie Jacobs

Full moon and a Blue moon

Freshwater lake sturgeon have long, scaleless bodies with ridges along their spines.

The August full moon, called the Sturgeon Moon, falls on the 19th of this month. And it’s not just a full moon. It is a supermoon! Because its orbit brings it close to Earth it will loom larger that past moons in 2024 as it rises over the horizon. It is also a Blue Moon.

You likely won’t see it at its peak illumination at 1:26 p.m. Central Time when the sun is bright. Look for it rising in the southeastern sky after sunset. However, it will also appear to be full the evenings of Aug. 18 and Aug. 20.

It is also known as a Blue Moon because of its seasonal timeliness of four full moons in a season and not because of the other definition of two full moons in a month. August’s moon is third in the season between a solstice and the equinox.

It gets its name from the weird looking freshwater fish that are more plentiful this time of year in the Great Lakes. Among the best places to see and learn more about these lake sturgeon is the Public Museum in Grand Rapids, MI and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL where they are in the Touch Pool.

They may also be listed in museums and aquariums as “living fossils” because their known discovered date is more than 130 million years ago.

As with other full moons, the August one also has Native American names including “Corn Moon” (Algonquin, Ojibwe) and Harvest Moon (Dakota).

BTW Even though the August moon is called a Supermoon, it will only look bigger but really won’t be larger.

For more full moon info go to the Old Farmer’s Almanac and TimeandDate.

Moon and Meteors

Full summer moon (J Jacobs)

Primarily known as the “Buck Moon” because male deer antlers are full grown, July’s full moon will be at peak illumination early morning July 21 (5:17 a.m. CT). But you will see it full at night on July 20 through July 22.

Other Native American July moon names also reflect animal behavior, nature and plants such as Salmon Moon, Berry Moon and Thunder Moon.

However, you don’t want a full moon if looking for the Delta Aquariids , often called Souther Aquariids from Comet 96P/Machholz when they fly overhead from July 18 to Aug. 21, 2024. They peak July 30 but are not numerous at 15 to 20 an hour and not bright. Also, they are more visible in the Southern Hemisphere and Southern US.

So be patient because the popular Perseids which zoom overhead late July to early September, will peak about Aug. 12 with more than 90 meteorites per hour.

For more information visit Buck Moon: Full Moon in July 2024 | Almanac.com, EarthSky Perseids and NASA.

Strawberry moon and summer solstice

If you noticed the moon looks brighter, closer and fuller even on June 19, two days before it’s full, you are right.

The June full moon will appear at 8:08 p.m. CT June 21, 2024 and will look extra-large because it is the lowest full moon we have seen in years. It’s just an illusion.

Also, because it is low it will appear more reddish orange due to the atmosphere and not because it is called the Strawberry Moon. That name recognizes the fruit that is often ripe about the same mid-June time. Other names are rose moon, honey moon, mead moon, berries ripen moon, planting moon and green corn moon.

After sunset, look southeast to see it rise over the horizon. For the time it rises locally see Full Moon Calculator.

In addition, the June moon is special this year because it happens at the same time as the summer solstice, when we in the northern hemisphere experience the longest day.

For more information visit Old Farmer’s Almanac and Time and Date and June Solstice 2024: Shortest & Longest Day of the Year (timeanddate.com)

Flower Moon

It may be hard to look up at May’s full moon when it appears on Thursday without thinking of the tragic, multi-nominated, award-winning movie produced and directed by Martin Scorsese and co-written by Eric Roth.

The movie is a true-crime drama. When oil was discovered on the Osage Nation property in Oklahoma during the Flower Moon festival in the 1920s it resulted in several Osage murders by people who wanted their oil rights and property.

As many readers of “Travel Smart with Jodie” know, the full-moon articles often note that the moon names come from different sources ranging from Native American tribes to European countries and reflect what is happening at that time in nature.

Other names are Budding Moon and Leaf Budding Moon (Cree), Planting Moon (Dakota and Lakota).

Except that moon names are annual, this year of 2024, it might also be called the cicada moon because at least in northern Illinois, the 17-year cicadas are just beginning to emerge.

No matter what you want to call the May moon it actually reaches full illumination at 9:53 a.m. EDT, the morning of May 23 but looks full on May 22 and will still look full on May 24. The Old Farmer’s Almanac tells when it is visible where you live on its Moonrise and Moonset Calculator.

Also find more information at Flower Moon: Full Moon in May 2024 | The Old Farmer’s Almanac at May’s full moon is called the Flower Moon (earthsky.org) and Flower Moon Is the Full Moon in May (timeanddate.com).

Pink Full Moon not really pink

(JJacobs March 2024 full moon photo)

Look for April’s full moon next week. Peak illumination will be 6:49 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, April 23,2024. But even though it is named the Pink Moon, it won’t take on a rosy shade.

Moon names often reflect what is happening in nature so pink is for the color of the phlox blooms that usually show up in the eastern part of North America in April.

Called Phlox subulata, it is a creeping or spreading form of the wild flower also called moss phlox.

Other names for the April moon depend on when in the month it appears full and how close to Easter and Passover or weather changes it happens. So sometimes it is called the Paschal or Egg Moon or the Breaking Ice Moon, Budding Moon and Awakening Moon.

The moon will also look full April 22 and April 24 so if the sky is cloudy you can also capture its fullness the day before and after.

For more information visit The Old Farmer’s Almanac and Time and
Date.