‘Moon Lore’ by Rev. Timothy Harley (1885)
Right before sunrise tomorrow morning – Friday, December 28, 2012 at around 5:21 (EST) – a full moon will pass through 180 degrees from the Sun in Earth-based longitude, appearing full for about 3 days centered on this time (from Wednesday evening through Saturday.)
It is named “The Wolf Moon” because it is the first full moon after Winter Solstice, when the Sun appears at its lowest altitude above the horizon.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, this name is attributed to the Algonquin and the Sioux Indian tribes who documented a crescendo of the howling of the wolves during this celestial time. The Algonquin, “sun has not strength to thaw”; the Sioux, “when wolves run together.” Other legends have it that the January/wolf link comes from the Scottish Gaelic term Faoilleach (referring to January and its position in the agricultural calendar) which was later mistakenly attributed to American Indian tribes.
“The Wolf Moon”, the 1st Full Moon after the Winter Solstice
European settlers sometimes called this moon the ‘Old Moon’ or the ‘Moon After Yule.’
Other Skygazing on the horizon (or higher up!):
Mars
End of December, twilight
Look for: a faint appearance that is low on the horizon
Jupiter
End of December, twilight
Look for: a bright planet near the bright star (Aldebaran)
Saturn
End of December, sunrise
Look above the horizon in the southeast
Venus
End of December, sunrise
Look low to the horizon in the southeast
The International Space Station
Visible most evenings between 12/25 and 12/31, 2012
Go to http://spotthestation.nasa.gov for location predictions
Quadrantids Meteor Shower
January 3rd (night) & 4th (early morning) 2013
The best time to look will be after midnight
The New Moon
Friday, January 11, 2013
Click here to read about autumn’s “Hunters Moon”.
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