Full Moon January 2027 UK: Wolf Supermoon 22 Jan, 12.17pm

The full Moon in January 2027 peaks at 12.17pm GMT on Friday 22 January, according to the US Naval Observatory. It is the Wolf Moon, and it is the closest full Moon of 2027, a supermoon about 357,640 km away. The exact moment falls at lunchtime, when the Moon is below the UK horizon, so you see it on the evenings either side: Thursday 21 January, when it is up all evening and already 98% lit, and Friday 22 January, when it rises almost exactly at sunset.

Below are the moonrise times for six UK cities, which night to choose, what is near the Moon, and why some websites put it in the wrong constellation.

Moonrise and moonset across the UK

Times are GMT, for the Moon’s upper edge on a flat horizon, from the US Naval Observatory’s rise and set calculator. Hills and buildings to the north-east will delay what you see by a few minutes.

The Moon sets in the morning in daylight or twilight. On the morning of the 22nd, a few hours before the exact full Moon, it goes down at 8.05am in London, 8.24am in Manchester, 8.42am in Edinburgh and 8.45am in Belfast, low in the north-west just after sunrise.

Which night is best?

Thursday 21 January is the night for looking up. The Moon is already in the sky by mid-afternoon, 98% lit, and reaches its highest point, due south, at 11.43pm in London. It is about 60 degrees up from London at that moment and about 55 degrees from Edinburgh. Between about 9pm and 2am it is high in a fully dark sky, and it passes perigee, its closest point of the month, at about 9.55pm. It is still 12 to 15 hours short of full, which the eye cannot detect.

Friday 22 January is the night for a moonrise. In London the Moon comes up at 4.34pm, two minutes after sunset, and in Edinburgh at 4.23pm, a minute before sunset. That is the classic full Moon picture: a large, orange disc lifting out of the north-east while the opposite sky still glows. It is a few hours past full by then, which nobody can see by eye.

Saturday 23 January gives a moonrise after dark, around 6.10pm, with the Moon still looking full.

If both of the first two nights are cloudy, the Moon looks full to the eye for about a day either side of the peak, so Saturday is a fair fallback.

The closest full Moon of 2027

A supermoon is a full Moon near perigee, the closest point of the Moon’s slightly oval orbit; the Royal Observatory Greenwich explains the term. On NASA JPL’s Horizons ephemeris, the Moon is about 357,640 km away (centre to centre) at the moment of full on 22 January. Perigee comes about 14 hours earlier, at about 9.55pm GMT on Thursday 21 January, at about 357,290 km. That timing is one more reason to look on the Thursday night: the Moon is at its closest of the month while you are watching it.

No full Moon in 2027 comes closer. February’s is next nearest at about 363,300 km, and the farthest of the year, on 18 July, is about 406,000 km away. By our calculation, January’s full Moon appears about 14% wider and about 29% brighter than July’s.

For scale, it is not quite as close as the Christmas Eve full Moon a month earlier, which was about 356,740 km away (see our December 2026 full Moon page). The difference, about a quarter of one per cent in size, is invisible.

What you will notice is the brightness rather than the size. A high, close full Moon over frost or snow lights the landscape well enough to walk without a torch and casts sharp shadows. When the Moon looks enormous low on the horizon at moonrise, that is the Moon illusion, a trick of perception that happens with every full Moon, supermoon or not.

Cancer, not Leo: where the Moon actually is

At the moment of full, the Moon sits among the faint stars of the constellation Cancer, the Crab, according to the Horizons ephemeris. On the Thursday evening it is still on the Gemini side of the border, below Castor and Pollux.

Many horoscope and moon-calendar sites call this the “full Moon in Leo”. That is the astrological sign, a fixed 30-degree slice of the sky measured from the spring equinox point, which no longer lines up with the star patterns the signs are named after. If you go outside and look, the stars around the Moon are Cancer’s. Cancer has no bright stars, and the Moon’s glare will hide almost all of them, so the obvious landmarks are Pollux and Castor to the Moon’s upper right.

What else is in the sky

Two planets are close by. Jupiter, in Leo, is the brilliant steady point below and to the left of the Moon, about 23 degrees up in the east at 9pm on the 22nd from London, at magnitude -2.5. Mars, also in Leo and fainter at magnitude -0.7 with a clear orange tint, is lower still and further left, about 12 degrees up at 9pm and climbing. Both are heading for opposition: Jupiter on 11 February and Mars on 19 February. Our Mars opposition 2027 page has the details, and how to see Jupiter’s moons works well even on a moonlit night.

The Moon’s glare wipes out faint stars, so this is not the week for the Milky Way or meteors. The Quadrantids peak on the morning of 4 January, before the new Moon of 7 January, in properly dark skies. If you are up before dawn this month, Venus is the morning star in the south-east.

Why it is called the Wolf Moon

The name comes from North American lists popularised by the Farmers’ Almanac, tied to the idea of wolves heard in the depths of winter. Other names on the same lists include the Ice Moon and the Old Moon. None of them are astronomical terms; they are folklore labels for the month, and the Moon looks the same whatever you call it.

Photographing the Friday moonrise

1. Face north-east. From London the Moon rises at a compass bearing of about 56 degrees on 22 January. Pick a church tower, hill, pier or bare tree in that direction and stand well back so the Moon looks large beside it.
2. Be in place before 4.30pm. The first 20 minutes after moonrise give the deepest colour and the best balance between Moon and sky, and this month the sky behind you is still bright from sunset.
3. Zoom rather than crop. Use the longest lens you have, or the 3x to 5x telephoto camera on a phone. Our guide to photographing the Moon with a phone covers exposure lock and why you tap on the Moon, not the sky.
4. Keep batteries warm. January evenings drain phone and camera batteries quickly. Carry a spare in an inside pocket.

Through a telescope, full Moon is the worst phase for crater detail, because the Sun shines straight down and there are no shadows. See how to observe the Moon for better nights, and whether a moon filter is worth it for a full Moon this bright.

Frequently asked questions

What time is the full Moon in January 2027 in the UK? The Moon is exactly full at 12.17pm GMT on Friday 22 January 2027. It is below the UK horizon at that moment, so look on the evening of Thursday 21 January or after moonrise on the 22nd, about 4.34pm in London.

Is the January 2027 full Moon a supermoon? Yes. At about 357,640 km it is the closest full Moon of 2027. Perigee comes about 14 hours before the full Moon, at around 9.55pm GMT on 21 January.

What is the January full Moon called? The Wolf Moon, a North American folk name. It is also listed as the Ice Moon and the Old Moon.

What constellation is the January 2027 full Moon in? Cancer, according to NASA JPL’s ephemeris, close to the border with Gemini. Astrology sites say Leo because they use signs, which no longer match the constellations.

Where should I look for the moonrise on 22 January 2027? North-east, about 56 degrees on a compass from London, right around sunset. It rises at 4.34pm in London, 4.33pm in Manchester, 4.23pm in Edinburgh and 4.43pm in Belfast.

Which planets are near the full Moon in January 2027? Jupiter and Mars, both in Leo, rise in the east below and to the left of the Moon. Jupiter is the brighter of the two; Mars is lower and orange.

Sources

US Naval Observatory moon phases and one-day rise and set data for each city; NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris for distances, perigee, constellations and planet positions; Royal Observatory Greenwich on supermoons. All read 6 November 2026.