Full ‘wolf moon’: History, significance and when to watch

The
first full moon of the year 2021 will be shining on Thursday and according to
the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it is known as ‘Wolf Moon’.

The ‘Maine
Farmer’s Almanac’ suggest that the Algonquin tribes, who used to stay in northern
and eastern United States as we now know it, named the full Moon, that falls in
January or the first full Moon of winter, as the Wolf Moon.

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The
name got its impetus from the packs of wolves that howled hungrily outside the
villages amid the cold and deep snows of winter, says NASA’s website.

This
full moon holds great significance across the globe and thus, known by
different names at every corner of the earth. Another name for this phenomenon
is the Ice Moon while Europeans called this the moon as Yule.

As
per the Hindu calendar, this full Moon is Shakambhari Purnima, the last day in
the eight-day Shakambari Navratri holiday that celebrates the goddess
Shakambhari.

According to NASA, the moon will appear full for about
three days centered on this time, from Thursday morning to Sunday morning.

As the Moon will pass opposite the Sun it
will spend about four hours in the partial shadow of Earth. This will mark the
position where Moon will be below the horizon for most of the Americans.

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The wolf moon will reach peak fullness at
2:16 p.m. EST, it will rise at 5:44 p.m. and moonset happens 8:53 a.m. on Friday.

While the world prepares to witness the
first full moon of the year, here is a list of all the 12 full moons of this
year:

January 28- Wolf Moon

February 27 – Snow Moon

 March 28 – Worm Moon

 April 27 – Pink Moon

May 26 – Flower Moon

June 24 – Strawberry Moon

July 24 – Buck Moon

August 22 – Sturgeon Moon

September 20 – Harvest Moon

October 20 – Blood Moon

November 19 – Frost Moon

December 19 – Cold Moon