Wolf Moon and Mars: How to See January 2025 Full Moon With the Red Planet


The first full moon of 2025, known as the Wolf Moon, will illuminate the night sky tonight—and it brings an extraordinary celestial event with it.

In a phenomenon called the occultation of Mars, the moon will pass directly in front of the red planet, temporarily hiding it from view for observers across large swaths of the Earth.

Here’s everything you need to know about this stunning cosmic display, from what a Wolf Moon is to how to catch a glimpse of Mars during its brief disappearance and reappearance.

What Is a Wolf Moon?

The January full moon is traditionally called the Wolf Moon, a name rooted in folklore.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), this name was popularized in the 1930s and originates from Native American traditions, which associated the name with the howling of wolves in winter’s deep cold.

Other cultures refer to the January full moon as the Ice Moon, the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule, reflecting the season’s chill and its place in the calendar after the winter solstice.

Moon and Mars in black space
An artist’s illustration of the moon and Mars in space. Mars will slip behind the moon on January 13, in an event known as an occultation.

dima_zel/Getty

What Time Will the January 2025 Full Moon Peak?

The Wolf Moon will reach its peak fullness at 5:27 p.m. Eastern Time on January 13. It will rise in the sky about an hour earlier, at 4:28 p.m. ET, and remain visible until 8:09 a.m. ET the next morning.

For those outside the Eastern Time Zone, the timing will vary slightly, but the Wolf Moon will dominate the night skies across the country.

How Long Do Full Moons Last?

A full moon technically lasts only a brief moment when it reaches its maximum illumination from the Sun. However, to the naked eye, the moon appears full for approximately three days. This is because minor changes in its illumination are almost imperceptible.

Even after the Wolf Moon begins to wane, it will remain over 90 percent illuminated through January 16, offering plenty of opportunities for moon-gazing.

The phases of the Moon for January
The phases of the Moon for January 2025. The moon will reach its fullest point at 5:26 p.m. ET on January 13, 2025, and will remain full for around three days.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

How Can I See Mars?

The highlight of this full moon is the occultation of Mars, an event in which the moon will align perfectly with the red planet and temporarily obscure it from view. This celestial hide-and-seek will last for about an hour, depending on your location.

For viewers in New York, Mars will disappear behind the moon around 9 p.m. ET on January 13 and reemerge an hour later. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Mars will already be hidden by the time the Sun sets, but it will reappear by mid-evening.

To spot Mars, simply look for the moon. The red planet will shine with an apparent brightness of -1.38, comparable to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. However, because the moon far outshines Mars, the planet may be hard to spot when the two are closest together.

“[The occultation] happens due to our solar system being quite flat, and so all the planets as well as the moon lie along that flat line across the sky, called the ecliptic,” Darren Baskill, a physics and astronomy lecturer at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, told Newsweek.

He added: “Usually, the moon glides by above or below the planets as it orbits around the sky every month (which is where the word month originates, moon-th), but occasionally, the moon can hide a planet as it moves around the Earth and across the sky.”

As this lunar cycle progresses, other planets will also make notable appearances in the night sky. Venus and Saturn will align closely on January 18, while Mars reaches its brightest point on January 15.

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about full moons? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

1 Comment
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