The wolf moon, the first full moon of the year, will ring in 2026, gracing the sky this weekend, but the lunar event will make the Quadrantid meteor shower a bit harder to spot.The silvery orb will start to look large in the sky around New Year’s Eve and will reach peak illumination at 5:03 a.m. ET Saturday, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.“The day before January 3 and the day after, the moon will appear full,” said Noah Petro, chief of NASA’s Planetary, Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs a result of the wolf moon’s brightness from reflected sunlight, viewing the Quadrantid meteor shower won’t be easy.The Quadrantids will reach peak activity from 4 to 7 p.m. ET Saturday, according to Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for the American Meteor Society. However, the best viewing will be from midnight to dawn ET Sunday, Lunsford said.One of the year’s three supermoonsJanuary’s wolf moon will also be 2026’s first supermoon, which generally indicates a full moon that’s closer than normal to Earth and seems larger and brighter in the sky. The wintry orb will be one of the three closest moons to Earth this year, with the cold moon in December expected to be the closest, according to Petro.However, Petro noted the difference between a supermoon and a full moon is subtle. “You have to be looking to see it,” he added.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo help spot the differences, NASA offers an animation depicting the lunar phases for 2026, allowing sky watchers to visualize the moon throughout the year.For optimal viewing, local conditions allowing, you don’t need special glasses — you can safely observe the moon with your eyes or use a telescope or binoculars for a …
