Moon tonight / January 2027

Full Moon January 2027: Wolf Moon

Q: When is the full moon in January 2027?

The January 2027 full moon is on January 22 at 7:17 AM EST, which is 4:17 AM PST on January 22 on the West Coast. The table shows the time in every US zone.

Q: What is the January full moon called?

It is the Wolf Moon. The howling of wolves was often heard at this time of year, which is where the Wolf Moon gets its name. European settlers may have used the term even before they came to North America.

Q: What time does the January full moon rise?

The full moon rises near sunset. The table gives moonrise that evening for New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Anchorage and Honolulu, each on its own clock, with the compass direction it appears in.

Q: Is the January 2027 full moon a supermoon?

Yes by this page’s rule. It is about 357,644 km away at the full moon, closer than 360,000 km, and NASA calls a full moon at or near its closest point to Earth a supermoon.

Q: Is the January 2027 full moon a Blue Moon?

No. A Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month or the third of four in one season, and the moon does not turn blue.

Q: Why do full moon times differ by time zone?

The moon is full at one instant for everyone on Earth. Each zone writes that instant on its own clock, so it can land on a different date late in the evening.

The Wolf Moon is full on January 22 at 7:17 AM EST. Here is the time in every US zone and moonrise that evening in six cities.

Photo: “Moon rise over the Green River and sage steppe at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge”, Tom Koerner, USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain

The exact time

When the January full moon happens in each US time zone

The January 2027 full moon in each US time zone
Time zone	Date	Time
Eastern	January 22	7:17 AM EST
Central	January 22	6:17 AM CST
Mountain	January 22	5:17 AM MST
Pacific	January 22	4:17 AM PST
Alaska	January 22	3:17 AM AKST
Hawaii	January 22	2:17 AM HST

Instants from the U.S. Naval Observatory’s table of moon phases.

Moonrise

Moonrise that evening in six cities

A full moon rises close to sunset. The compass direction is where to look on the horizon.

Moonrise on the evening of the January 2027 full moon in six cities
City	Evening of	Moonrise	Direction
New York	Jan 22	5:25 PM	east-northeast (ENE)
Chicago	Jan 22	5:19 PM	east-northeast (ENE)
Denver	Jan 22	5:38 PM	east-northeast (ENE)
Los Angeles	Jan 21	4:30 PM	east-northeast (ENE)
Anchorage	Jan 21	3:17 PM	northeast (NE)
Honolulu	Jan 21	5:47 PM	east-northeast (ENE)

The name

Why it is called the Wolf Moon

The howling of wolves was often heard at this time of year, which is where the Wolf Moon gets its name. European settlers may have used the term even before they came to North America.

These names come from Native American, Colonial American and European traditions, and nations named the moons by their own seasons, so no one name belongs to a single people. Names follow the Old Farmer's Almanac.