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Wolf Supermoon Rises Saturday, Peaking at 5:03 a.m. EST

The glare will hinder viewing of the Quadrantid meteor shower.

Jupiter reaches opposition this month, looking its best, while the motions of its moons are fascinating to watch. This 2020 Hubble image shows Jupiter and its icy moon Europa. Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M. H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley) and the OPAL team
Three silhouetted wolves howling at a huge, bright moon
A quadrantid meteor flashes across the sky in January 2019. Credit: Tom Lee (Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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Overview

  • The first full moon of 2026 reaches peak illumination at about 5:02–5:03 a.m. EST on January 3, with the most striking views expected at moonrise on the evenings of January 2–3.
  • Because the full moon occurs near lunar perigee, it qualifies as a supermoon that can appear up to roughly 14% larger and 30% brighter than when the moon is at apogee, though the difference is subtle.
  • The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks January 3–4—around 4–7 p.m. ET Saturday with better observing after midnight—but most faint meteors will be washed out by the full moon’s brightness, according to the American Meteor Society.
  • Look to the eastern horizon after sunset to see the full moon rising near the star Pollux with Jupiter shining nearby; Jupiter reaches opposition on January 10 and will be conspicuously bright all night.
  • This Wolf Supermoon is the fourth in a consecutive run and the first of 2026, opening a year with 13 full moons, including a May 31 blue moon and an especially close Cold Supermoon on December 24.