The New Year Will Kick Off With a Supermoon. Here’s When to See It

Supermoons tend to come in groups, and Earth just experienced three in a row, dating from October. The last supermoon in this sequence will occur on January 3, and it is also the first supermoon of 2026. Sky watchers will want to catch this one, since the next one won’t occur until next November.

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The Moon tends to spend three to four months at a time in perigee, a fancy term that means it is as close to Earth as its elliptical orbit allows. During this time, humans call full moons a supermoon. Because the Moon is physically closer to Earth than it normally is, a full moon appears brighter and larger in the sky.

The difference can be a moon up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than a micromoon, which occurs when the moon is at its apogee or farthest point from Earth. This brightness is the real differentiator, as a supermoon is bright enough to light up your yard, especially if there is snow on the ground.

The chances of this happening are pretty good, as it is expected to snow in parts of the United States between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

To see the brightest moon, you’ll need to stay up late on January 2 or wake up very early on January 3. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, January’s supermoon will rise from the eastern horizon and cross the sky to settle in the west at sunrise. The moon will reach peak illumination at 5:03 a.m. ET. It should still be dark outside for the entire United States during this time, so everyone has a chance to see it.

If you can’t make it due to weather or other commitments, the Wolf Moon will be more than 90% full from December 31 to January 5, giving you almost a week with near-maximum lighting.

Since the moon is the largest and brightest object in the night sky, you won’t need special magnification to see it either. However, a good pair of binoculars or a telescope allows details of the moon’s surface are easier to seeand helps photographers take some impressive shots of the moon.

The January full moon is commonly called the Wolf Moon, and it is due to increased wolf activity during this time. Not only does January mark the start of the wolf’s winter mating season, but wolves are also generally most active at dusk and dawn, and dusk comes quite early in the day, just after the winter solstice. This used to mean that people were much more likely to see a wolf or hear wolves howling in January.