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Sky watchers got a real treat Thursday night as the wolf moon filled the night sky.
Though the Virtual Telescope Project will stream video of the first full moonrise of the year over Rome’s skyline, amateur astronomers can watch the sky through the early part of Saturday morning – barring any cloud cover due to winter storms.Â
The name is attributed to Native Americans noticing that wolves would howl during the winter months, when food was scarce, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
But that interpretation is most likely incorrect, Gordon Johnston, a retired NASA program manager, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.
“From what I have learned about traditional names given to full Moons prior to the introduction of modern timekeeping, local leaders would usually decide on the name of the Moon based on conditions at the time,” he wrote. “Full Moon names were used to describe and remember what happened in the past and to remind of what was likely to come in the near future.”
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According to Indian Country Today, the closest name to “wolf moon” is actually the Sioux name, the “wolves run together” moon.Â
Other names for the wolf moon include the Algonquin’s label squochee kesos, or “sun has not strength to thaw,” the Hopi’s moniker “moon of life at its height” and the Muscogee’s name “winter’s younger brother,” per the Western Washington University Planetarium website, which has a list of full moon names for 29 tribes.
In case you weren’t able to catch a glimpse, social media has you covered.
Unlike 2020, which saw 13 full moons, 2021 will have the typical 12 full moons. Their names, according to the Almanac:
- Feb. 27: Snow moon
- March 28: Worm moon
- April 26: Pink moon
- May 26: Flower moon
- June 24: Strawberry moon
- July 23: Buck moon
- Aug. 22: Sturgeon moon
- Sept. 20: Harvest moon
- Oct. 20: Hunter’s moon
- Nov. 19: Beaver moon
- Dec. 18: Cold moon
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