The January full moon soared by way of the winter sky on Jan. 3, placing on an awe-inspiring show because it flooded the night time with mirrored daylight to kick off a brand new yr of spectacular lunar milestones. Learn on to see jaw-dropping photos of the primary full moon and supermoon of 2026.
January’s moon — usually generally known as the “Wolf Moon” in reference to the packs of famished carnivores that may be heard howling this time of yr — turned full because it sat near its minimal distance to Earth in its 27-day orbit, giving rise to a fascinating supermoon.
Skilled photographers seized the chance to line up spectacular compositions because the Wolf Moon prowled low over the japanese horizon on the nights surrounding Jan. 3, earlier than monitoring it because the lunar disk leapt excessive overhead to hunt the celebs by way of the night time sky.
The January full Wolf Supermoon in photographs
Photographer Gary Hershorn captured a stunning view of the moon hanging above the New York Metropolis skyline, the place it joined the synthetic glow of the town to forged columns of sunshine throughout the Hudson River, as wisps of cloud performed by way of the sky overhead.
Hershorn additionally captured a traditional picture of the lunar disk because it appeared to skim the Statue of Liberty’s torch in New York round sundown on that very same day (Jan. 3).
The following picture was taken on the night time of Jan. 3 because the moon rose over the historic hilltop that performs host to the Glastonbury Tor, in Somerset, U.Ok.
Matt Cardy’s picture seems to point out the moon balanced atop the 14th-century tower, as stargazers collect to witness the pure gentle present.
Cardy additionally used his telephoto lens to seize the lunar disk because it handed by way of a set of Christmas lights, the unfocused gentle from which encircled the silvery moon with a mess of yellow-orange spheres
Photographer Wang Jianmin lined up an imposing shot of the full moon positioned on the apex of a standard tower within the metropolis of Lianyungang in China’s Jiangsu Province on Jan. 3.
Kirill Kudryavtsev opted to seize each the traditional and the brand new without delay, by snapping a business airliner because it soared previous the lunar disk within the skies over Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 2, leaving a dense exhaust path that bisected the darkish basaltic plains scarring the lunar disk.
The following shot immortalized the moon as its gentle mirrored within the freezing waters of a wild river operating by way of the snowy panorama within the Mengen district of Bolu, Turkey, on Jan. 2, mere hours earlier than the lunar disk turned full. Its orange gentle is the results of an atmospheric impact known as Rayleigh Scattering, whereby particles deflect the bluer wavelengths of sunshine mirrored from the lunar floor, whereas permitting redder wavelengths to cross by way of comparatively unaffected.
Photographer Adnan Farzat captured the Wolf Moon because it rose over Paris above an ocean of clouds on the night time of Jan. 3. Delicate darkish patches on the lunar floor betray the presence of colossal basaltic plains, the place lava flows coated huge swathes of Earth’s pure satellite tv for pc, earlier than solidifying within the excessive setting of area.
Solar Yongdong froze a second in time because the orange moon rose above the serene mountains in Beijing, China, later that very same night time.
Our subsequent lunar view comes courtesy of Ismeal Adnan Yaqoob, who imaged the lunar disk on the night time of Jan. 3 because it handed the apex of the Royal Clock Tower over Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Lastly, photographer Aditya Irawan was in a position to take a gorgeously detailed shot of the complete Wolf Moon because it hung within the skies over West Java in Indonesia. Tycho Crater dominates the appropriate facet of the lunar disk, because the Kepler and Copernicus affect websites brighten the southern lunar maria.
Feeling impressed to seize your personal photographs of the lunar disk? Then you’ll want to learn our roundup of the finest cameras and lenses for astrophotography, together with our information to imaging the moon. In the event you’re within the temper for extra astrophotography then it’s also possible to take a look at our 10 favourite astrophotos of 2025 as submitted by Area.com’s readers!
Editor’s Word: If you want to share your lunar astrophotography with Area.com’s readers, then please ship your picture(s), feedback, and your title and placement to spacephotos@area.com.
