THE first full moon of the year will be visible in skies tomorrow, Monday, January 17, 2022.

Traditionally, each full moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not just to the full moon itself.

The first full moon of the year, the Wolf Moon, is named so because of hungry wolves howling due to lack of food in the midwinter.

Some Native Americans named this the Old Moon; others called it the Ice Moon.

When is best to see it? 

Ordinarily you would want to see the moon during moonrise just before it reaches its brightest point. 

At its brightest the moon will actually be too bright to look at and appear small in the sky.

Peaking at a reasonable time, the Wolf Moon won't make you set your alarm early. 

If you're a bit of a night owl or happy to stay up a little late, you can expect to catch a wonderful glimpse of this rare moon.

The Wolf Moon will reach its fullest size at 11.48pm on January 17.

How often does a full moon occur?

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days and is when the Moon is completely illuminated by the Sun's rays. It occurs when the Earth is directly aligned between the Sun and the Moon. 

While most years see 12 full moons, some years have 13. This means that some months will see two full moons, with the second known as a Blue Moon.

When is the next full Moon?

The next full moon is the full Snow Moon which will occur on Wednesday, February 16, 2021. It will be the first full moon of Lunar New Year 2022.