Wolf Moon

Algonquin tribes, who once populated the northern U.S. from New England to the Great Lakes, called the full moon in January the Wolf Moon, after the hungry packs that howled outside the Indian villages.  The wolves howl, and remind us of our own wants and needs.

This full moon comes to us on Monday, January 9, 2:30 am EST. 

 

The sun will set at 4:21 pm here;  the moon will rise before sunset, at 4:03 pm.  The moon will set at 7:11 am, just a few moments before sunrise Monday morning, at 7:14 am.  This is the only night this month that the moon is in the sky all night long; the rest of the month, the moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky.

Looking east – southeast at early to mid-evening, all the stars of the Winter Circle will surround the moon.  Near the horizon you will see Sirius, the brightest star of the evening sky.  Sirius represented the Wolves to the native peoples.

For more sky watching information, here is a great website:

 http://earthsky.org/tonight/identify-the-stars-of-the-winter-circle

And here is a great post about the astrological significance of this particular full moon: http://cosmicpotential.blogspot.com/2012/01/full-moon-in-cancer-2012-wolf-moon.html

Although the relatively mild winter so far has been kind in terms of home heating costs, I confess I miss the snow cover.  Nothing more magical than a brilliant full moon glistening on the snow.

At the solstice, our shortest daytime hours were  8 hours 56 minutes.  On Monday, our day length is 9 hours and 8 minutes.  We have gained 12 minutes of daylight!