The First Full Moon Of 2024 Will Rise Over SF This Week

Skygazers will want to look up this week, because we’re enjoying 2024’s first full Moon in San Francisco. January’s full Moon, named the Wolf Moon, will reach peak illumination at 9:54am on Thursday, January 25, meaning that it will likely look brightest on Wednesday night. That said, a Full Moon looks full to the naked eye for about 3 days, so make sure to look up on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week to see it at its best.

Here’s a quick rundown of sunset and moonrise times for the Cold Moon in SF:

According to Farmer’s Almanac, the January full moon has been called the Wolf Moon by European, Native American, and Colonial American sources.

Many Native American tribes have other names for Cold Moon including the Cold Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Moon (Cree), Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin), Severe Moon (Dakota), and Hard Moon (Dakota).

More about the full Moon

To our brains, the full Moon looks especially large and orange-tinted just after it’s risen over the horizon. Farmer’s Almanac tells us that this “Moon Illusion” is simply due to the fact that from our perspective, the Moon is closer in proximity to other “earthly objects” such as familiar buildings, chimneys, and items on the skyline. Once the Moon has risen high overhead, it looks smaller because there are no artifacts nearby to compare it to. As for the orange tint, that’s because the Moon is further away when looking at it over the horizon, and the light takes longer to reach our eyes. By that time the shorter “blue” wavelengths of light have scattered in Earth’s atmosphere and we’re left with the longer “red” ones.

If you miss the full Moon this month, not to worry! Here’s when to look for full Moons in San Francisco for the next 6 months.