While Saturday will mark the first full moon of 2026, it won’t just be the typical one you see every month; it will be a supermoon and a ‘wolf moon’ at the same time.
This marks the conclusion of a four-month series of supermoons. If you happen to miss this celestial event, you’ll have to wait until November to witness another moon of similar size and brilliance lighting up the sky.
Typically, the moon’s perigee, or its closest approach to Earth, is about 363,300 kilometers. This Saturday night, the full moon will hover around that same distance, as reported by NASA.
The Moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical, not a perfect circle, so the Moon’s distance from Earth is not always the same.
A supermoon happens when the full moon is at its closest point to Earth, called its ‘perigee’.
The name ‘wolf moon’ is believed to have originated from Native American and medieval European traditions. It refers to the January full moon, a period when wolves are thought to howl more frequently than at any other time of year.
As well as the fourth month in a row with a supermoon, tonight’s lunar light show will also be what’s known as a ‘wolf moon’.
Different cultures have historically assigned unique names to full moons to reflect things happening around them at that time of year, such as the term ‘snow moon’ for a full moon in February, a month known for snow in the northern hemisphere.
The term ‘wolf moon’ is thought to have been used by Native Americans and medieval Europeans to refer to the full moon in January, a time of year when wolves are believed to howl more than at any other time.
When’s the best time to watch the full moon tonight?
The moon will be officially full at 9:02 pm AEDT, which is when the actual wolf supermoon begins.
The best time to view it is around dusk, when the moon will seem most grand thanks to an optical illusion that makes our eyes perceive objects on the horizon as larger.
If you miss it tonight, you’ll need to wait until 6 November and 5 December for the next supermoons.
