The Moon in January 2026
In January 2026 the Moon goes through four main phases: full moon on January 3, last quarter on January 10, new moon on January 18 and first quarter on January 25. The full moon, traditionally called the Wolf Moon, comes on Saturday, January 3 at 5:03 AM ET (10:03 AM UTC). The new moon falls on Sunday, January 18 at 2:52 PM ET.
On January 1 the Moon is a waxing gibbous, 93% lit. By January 31 it is a waxing gibbous, 99% lit. All times on this page are Eastern Time (New York), rounded to the minute, with UTC alongside. The live tool at the top uses your own time zone.
| Phase | Date | Time (ET) | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full moon | Saturday, January 3 | 5:03 AM | Jan 3, 10:03 AM |
| Last quarter | Saturday, January 10 | 10:48 AM | Jan 10, 3:48 PM |
| New moon | Sunday, January 18 | 2:52 PM | Jan 18, 7:52 PM |
| First quarter | Sunday, January 25 | 11:48 PM | Jan 26, 4:48 AM |
January 2026 moon calendar, day by day
Phase and lit share at noon in New York, the Moon’s direction in the sky, then moonrise and moonset in New York. “None” means the Moon does not rise (or set) that calendar day.
| Day | Phase | Lit | Moon | Rise | Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Jan 1 | Waxing Gibbous | 96% | Ascending | 2:33 PM | 5:42 AM |
| Fri, Jan 2 | Waxing Gibbous | 99% | Descending | 3:40 PM | 6:53 AM |
| Sat, Jan 3 | Full moon | 100% | Descending | 4:56 PM | 7:52 AM |
| Sun, Jan 4 | Waning Gibbous | 98% | Descending | 6:14 PM | 8:37 AM |
| Mon, Jan 5 | Waning Gibbous | 93% | Descending | 7:31 PM | 9:13 AM |
| Tue, Jan 6 | Waning Gibbous | 86% | Descending | 8:42 PM | 9:41 AM |
| Wed, Jan 7 | Waning Gibbous | 78% | Descending | 9:50 PM | 10:05 AM |
| Thu, Jan 8 | Waning Gibbous | 69% | Descending | 10:55 PM | 10:26 AM |
| Fri, Jan 9 | Waning Gibbous | 59% | Descending | 11:58 PM | 10:46 AM |
| Sat, Jan 10 | Last quarter | 50% | Descending | none | 11:07 AM |
| Sun, Jan 11 | Waning Crescent | 40% | Descending | 1:00 AM | 11:29 AM |
| Mon, Jan 12 | Waning Crescent | 31% | Descending | 2:03 AM | 11:55 AM |
| Tue, Jan 13 | Waning Crescent | 23% | Descending | 3:06 AM | 12:25 PM |
| Wed, Jan 14 | Waning Crescent | 15% | Descending | 4:08 AM | 1:01 PM |
| Thu, Jan 15 | Waning Crescent | 9% | Descending | 5:07 AM | 1:46 PM |
| Fri, Jan 16 | Waning Crescent | 4% | Ascending | 6:02 AM | 2:39 PM |
| Sat, Jan 17 | Waning Crescent | 1% | Ascending | 6:49 AM | 3:40 PM |
| Sun, Jan 18 | New moon | 0% | Ascending | 7:28 AM | 4:45 PM |
| Mon, Jan 19 | Waxing Crescent | 1% | Ascending | 8:01 AM | 5:53 PM |
| Tue, Jan 20 | Waxing Crescent | 4% | Ascending | 8:29 AM | 7:01 PM |
| Wed, Jan 21 | Waxing Crescent | 9% | Ascending | 8:54 AM | 8:09 PM |
| Thu, Jan 22 | Waxing Crescent | 15% | Ascending | 9:16 AM | 9:16 PM |
| Fri, Jan 23 | Waxing Crescent | 24% | Ascending | 9:37 AM | 10:25 PM |
| Sat, Jan 24 | Waxing Crescent | 34% | Ascending | 10:00 AM | 11:36 PM |
| Sun, Jan 25 | First quarter | 45% | Ascending | 10:25 AM | none |
| Mon, Jan 26 | Waxing Gibbous | 56% | Ascending | 10:55 AM | 12:50 AM |
| Tue, Jan 27 | Waxing Gibbous | 67% | Ascending | 11:32 AM | 2:06 AM |
| Wed, Jan 28 | Waxing Gibbous | 77% | Ascending | 12:19 PM | 3:23 AM |
| Thu, Jan 29 | Waxing Gibbous | 86% | Descending | 1:19 PM | 4:35 AM |
| Fri, Jan 30 | Waxing Gibbous | 93% | Descending | 2:29 PM | 5:37 AM |
| Sat, Jan 31 | Waxing Gibbous | 98% | Descending | 3:46 PM | 6:28 AM |
Distance and height in the sky
The Moon is closest to Earth (perigee) on January 1, at 360,350 km, and again on January 29 (365,873 km). It is farthest (apogee) on January 13, at 405,436 km.
The month starts with a rising Moon. It reaches its highest path on January 2 (declination 28.3° north) and then descends. It reaches its lowest path on January 16 (28.3° south) and starts to ascend again. It reaches its highest path on January 29 (declination 28.4° north) and then descends. A high declination means the Moon rides high in the sky and stays up longer, as seen from the United States.
Supermoon on January 3
The full moon of January 3 happens 362,312 km from Earth, close to perigee. It ranks number 3 among the 2026 full moons by distance. It looks slightly bigger and brighter than an average full moon, though the difference is hard to see without a side by side photo.
Why it is called the Wolf Moon
The name comes from the almanac tradition of the northeastern United States: wolves were heard howling more often in the hungry weeks of midwinter. These names were popularized in the 1930s by the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, which presented them as Native American names.
Next: the following month. Before: today’s moon. See all the full moons of 2026, or sunrise and sunset times for any city.