The First Full Moon of 2017 Will Rise on Thursday Night—And It's Going to Be Spectacular
If you were excited about getting a glimpse of September's Harvest Moon eclipse, you're not going to miss 2017's first full moon on Thursday, Jan. 12. January's full moon-also known as the Wolf Moon-was named by Native American tribes, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.
Throughout the year, if you notice people referring to the full moons with a range of nicknames, it's because tribes gave each month's full moon its own name in order to keep track of the seasons, which is pretty genius, if you ask us. Some of the year's other full moon monikers include Snow Moon, Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon, and Hunter's Moon.
But that begs the question: Why Wolf Moon for the month of January? During the cold, wintery month, hungry wolves would often gather around Native American villages and howl at the moon-makes sense!
In order to catch Thursday's moon at its brightest, EarthSky advises heading outside between midnight and sunrise to witness the Wolf Moon in full effect.
(h/t Refinery29)
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