Full moon January 2027: Wolf Moon in Leo

What time is it where you are?

The same instant falls on different dates around the world, so check the date as well as the time.

Moonrise and the highest point

A full moon rises around sunset and climbs highest around the middle of the night. These are the moonrise nearest the exact moment and the Moon's highest point after it, in local time.

Of these cities, it rides highest in Mumbai, at 89°, and lowest in Sydney, at 34°.

Height is the angle above the horizon, where 90° would be straight overhead. A full moon near the horizon is the same size as a high one. It only looks bigger.

Why it's called the Wolf Moon

Named for the wolves heard howling through the long, hungry nights of midwinter. Like most of these names, it comes from the traditional North American list that farmers' almanacs have printed since the 1930s, which mixes Algonquin, colonial American and old European names for the months.

The stars behind this full moon

Signs follow the seasons and constellations are patterns of stars, and the two have drifted apart over the centuries. At 2°14′ Leo, the Moon actually stands in front of Cancer, the crab, not the constellation Leo is named after. The Sun, on the far side of the sky at 2°14′ Aquarius, is in front of Capricornus.

More about CancerWhy signs and constellations differSee the real sky at your own birth

How close is the Moon?

At 357,635 km from Earth, this is the closest of the 12 full moons of 2027. It looks 14% wider than the farthest full moon of the year, on 18 July 2027, a difference that is easier to measure than to see.

Perigee, the closest point of this orbit, comes on 21 January 2027 at 21:46 UTC, 15 hours before the exact full moon, at 357,273 km. Apogee, the farthest point, comes on 3 February 2027 at 406,178 km. When a full or new moon falls this close to perigee, tides tend to run a little higher than usual for a day or two.

The planets at this full moon

Where everything else stands at the exact moment, and any major aspect each planet makes to the Moon, using the same orbs Hali uses in every chart.

The tightest contact is a trine from Neptune, 0.2° from exact. A trine from Neptune tends to make its themes easy to draw on. A sextile from Uranus offers an opening that is easy to miss if you are not looking. With Pluto opposite the Moon, its themes tend to show up as a pull in another direction. Mars, Jupiter and Uranus are retrograde at this moment.

Planets to look for

The bright Moon washes out faint stars, but the planets still shine through.

• Mercury is too close to the Sun to see.
• Venus is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Ophiuchus.
• Mars is in the morning sky before dawn, in front of Leo.
• Jupiter is up most of the night, in front of Leo.
• Saturn is in the evening sky after sunset, in front of Cetus.

Eclipse season

The Moon is 18.3° from the South Node, one of the two points where its path crosses the Sun's. Eclipses only happen when a new or full moon falls near a node, so this one falls outside eclipse season. The next eclipse is the annular solar eclipse at the new moon of February 2027.

What the lunar nodes are

This lunar cycle

This full moon is the peak of the cycle that began with the new moon in Capricorn on 7 January 2027. The cycle ends with the new moon on 6 February 2027.

A full moon in Leo

With the Sun opposite in Aquarius, this full moon balances being seen with being part of something bigger. Notice where you want credit and where you simply want to belong.

Astrology reads full and new moons as moments for reflection, not predictions. Take what helps and leave the rest.

When the Moon is in Leo

Leo Moon days are warm and expressive. People want attention, fun and a bit of drama, so it's a good time for creativity, celebrations and generous gestures.

More about the Moon in Leo

The same moon in other years

• Last yearFull moon January 2026, Cancer