By Lily Hautau, CNN
(CNN) — The wolf moon, the first full moon of the year, will ring in 2026, gracing the sky this weekend, but the lunar event will make the Quadrantid meteor shower a bit harder to spot.
The silvery orb will start to look large in the sky around New Year’s Eve and will reach peak illumination at 5:03 a.m. ET Saturday, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
“The day before January 3 and the day after, the moon will appear full,” said Noah Petro, chief of NASA’s Planetary, Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
As a result of the wolf moon’s brightness from reflected sunlight, viewing the Quadrantid meteor shower won’t be easy.
The Quadrantids will reach peak activity from 4 to 7 p.m. ET Saturday, according to Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for the American Meteor Society. However, the best viewing will be from midnight to dawn ET Sunday, Lunsford said.
One of the year’s three supermoons
January’s wolf moon will also be 2026’s first supermoon, which generally indicates a full moon that’s closer than normal to Earth and seems larger and brighter in the sky. The wintry orb will be one of the three closest moons to Earth this year, with the cold moon in December expected to be the closest, according to Petro.
However, Petro noted the difference between a supermoon and a full moon is subtle. “You have to be looking to see it,” he added.
To help spot the differences, NASA offers an animation depicting the lunar phases for 2026, allowing sky watchers to visualize the moon throughout the year.
For optimal viewing, local conditions allowing, you don’t need special glasses — you can safely observe the moon with your eyes or use a telescope or binoculars for a closer look, Petro said. It’s ideal to find a dark place with a clear view of the horizon, but if that’s not possible, your favorite beach or hangout spot works, too.
“Being in a place that is meaningful and enjoying the full moon makes it that much more special,” Petro added.
An eye on the moon and a future mission
With NASA’s Artemis II expected to send a four-person crew around the moon as soon as early February, Petro encourages people to observe Earth’s closest celestial neighbor in the lead-up to the highly anticipated mission. It will mark the first time astronauts venture beyond near-Earth orbit in more than 50 years.
“Go out and look up and just become awestruck” at January’s supermoon, he said.
As you take in the orb, you can imagine what it might be like for the Artemis II astronauts, who if successful could fly by the moon and see its far side. Petro, who leads the science team of NASA’s Artemis III mission, explained that these astronauts will be looking at features that we can’t see on Earth.
Petro recommends that sky-gazers start their own mental countdown to Artemis II, suggesting that folks “pay attention to the phases of the moon.”
How January’s full moon got its name
January’s wolf moon is named for the increased howling of wolves during this time of year, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
“We describe names to full moons based on what is happening around that time,” Petro added.
The origin of the name comes from the Sioux language, which describes this moon as “Read more