Here, we see last night’s spectacular moon sailing over Naskeag Peninsula at about 10 p.m. in 14-degree weather with a wind chill of 4 degrees. It was a virtually full moon. The actual January full Wolf Moon was the night before last night, but it was hidden behind mounds of clouds here.
Below, you’ll see last night’s sunset, which did a credible warm-up act for the moon:
The Old Farmer’s Almanac reported that the American Colonists named this month’s full moon the Full Wolf Moon, which still is the most common name for it. The name reportedly was based on the Colonists hearing wolves howl around their settlements when there was a full moon in January. Their basic concept, apparently, was that the full moon drives wolves a bit crazy in the harshest month of winter and the wild canines instinctively howl at the glowing orb then.
This, of course, is nonsense. Wolves howl anytime that they have a need to, day or night, and seem to pay no attention to the moon, itself. They howl to contact other members of the pack, to warn other packs to stay away, to call their pack for a hunt, and for other reasons. They are motivated by the moon’s light, which gives them an opportunity to see better and to call together their pack for a hunt then. (Brooklin, Maine)