January full moon wows skywatchers with a striking 'Wolf Supermoon' (photos)

A full moon is pictured rising in the evening sky over a serene, misty mountain range bordering a city.

A Wolf Moon rises over Beijing, China in January 2026. (Image credit: Photo by Sun Yongdong/VCG via Getty Images)

The January full moon soared through the winter sky on Jan. 3, putting on an awe-inspiring display as it flooded the night with reflected sunlight to kick off a new year of spectacular lunar milestones. Read on to see jaw-dropping images of the first full moon and supermoon of 2026.

January's moon — often known as the "Wolf Moon" in reference to the packs of famished carnivores that can be heard howling this time of year — turned full as it sat close to its minimal distance to Earth in its 27-day orbit, giving rise to an enchanting supermoon.

Experienced photographers seized the opportunity to line up impressive compositions as the Wolf Moon prowled low over the eastern horizon on the nights surrounding Jan. 3, before tracking it as the lunar disk leapt high overhead to hunt the stars through the night sky.

The January full Wolf Supermoon in photos

Photographer Gary Hershorn captured a gorgeous view of the moon hanging above the New York City skyline, where it joined the artificial glow of the city to cast columns of light across the Hudson River, as wisps of cloud played through the sky overhead.

The yellow glowing disk of the moon is pictured shining between skyscrapers on the New York skyline at night, as light from the natural satellite and the city casts columns of illumination across a foreground body of water.

The moon shines over New York on Jan. 4, a day after turning full. (Image credit: Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Hershorn also captured a classic image of the lunar disk as it appeared to skim the Statue of Liberty's torch in New York around sunset on that same day (Jan. 3).

A yellow-orange full moon is pictured appearing to touch the torch of the Statue of Liberty in New York in a hazy evening sky.

The Statue of Liberty snapped with her torch touching the moon on Jan. 3 in New York. (Image credit: Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Kevin McCarthy snapped a beautifully detailed shot of the Wolf Supermoon's silvery light in the skies over North Carolina on Jan. 3, highlighting the bright streaks of material cast out from young impact sites.

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"It was cloudy and we had rain for most of the day in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the skies cleared at sunset, giving me a clear view as the Wolf Super Moon rose," McCarthy told Space.com in an email. "This photo was hand-held and I took a series of images to make sure I could capture one with maximum clarity."

A full moon is shown against a black sky, with dark basaltic plains and bright lunar craters marking its ancient surface.

The Wolf Moon captured over North Carolina. (Image credit: Kevin McCarthy)

The next image was taken on the night of Jan. 3 as the moon rose over the historic hilltop that plays host to the Glastonbury Tor, in Somerset, U.K.

Matt Cardy's photo appears to show the moon balanced atop the 14th-century tower, as stargazers gather to witness the natural light show.

A full moon is pictured rising in a darkening blue evening sky above a lonely tower on a hill, as people gather on the hilltop to watch the event.

The Wolf Supermoon rises over the Glastonbury Tor in Sumerset, UK, on Jan. 3. (Image credit: Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Cardy also used his telephoto lens to capture the lunar disk as it passed through a collection of Christmas lights, the unfocused light from which encircled the silvery moon with a multitude of yellow-orange spheres

A full moon is pictured shining in a dark sky surrounded by yellow-orange sphere's created by out-of-focus Christmas lights in the foreground on the shot.

The moon shines among Christmas lights in the skies above the U.K. (Image credit: Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Photographer Lisa Shislowski was also able to take a colorful view of Earth's natural satellite from her vantage point in Plantation, Florida.

"About 20 minutes before the sunrise this morning, the skies were pastel in color," said Shislowski in an email to Space.com. "The full moon was getting closer to setting through the fog over the Everglades in Weston, Florida. It was truly beautiful to see."

A yellow full moon is pictured in a pastel-pink sky with a palm tree framing the left of the screen and a bush dominating the lower right.

The Wolf Moon viewed from the Florida Everglades. (Image credit: Lisa Shislowski)

Photographer Wang Jianmin lined up a majestic shot of the full moon positioned at the apex of a traditional tower in the city of Lianyungang in China's Jiangsu Province on Jan. 3.

A full moon is pictured glowing above the roof of a traditional Chinese building in a dark night sky. The roof of the building is illuminated to highlight its ornate features.

The Wolf Moon captured as it shone at the apex of a traditional building in China on Jan. 3. (Image credit: Photo by Wang Jianmin/VCG via Getty Images)

Kirill Kudryavtsev opted to capture both the ancient and the new at once, by snapping a commercial airliner as it soared past the lunar disk in the skies over Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 2, leaving a dense exhaust trail that bisected the dark basaltic plains scarring the lunar disk.

A commercial jet is pictured in profile having crossed the lunar disk in the night sky. The jet has left a dark exhaust trail across the moon's equator, where the dark-grey expanses of lava plains and craters mark its surface.

An airliner crosses the lunar disk in the skies over Germany. (Image credit: Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)

The next shot immortalized the moon as its light reflected in the freezing waters of a wild river running through the snowy landscape in the Mengen district of Bolu, Turkey, on Jan. 2, mere hours before the lunar disk turned full. Its orange light is the result of an atmospheric effect called Rayleigh Scattering, wherein particles deflect the bluer wavelengths of light reflected from the lunar surface, while allowing redder wavelengths to pass through relatively unaffected.

An orange moon is pictured glowing above a snowy hillside covered in trees at night, as a river flows freely in the foreground, reflecting its light.

The Wolf Moon prowls through the sky over Turkey. (Image credit: Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Photographer Adnan Farzat captured the Wolf Moon as it rose over Paris above an ocean of clouds on the night of Jan. 3. Subtle dark patches on the lunar surface betray the presence of colossal basaltic plains, where lava flows coated vast swathes of Earth's natural satellite, before solidifying in the extreme environment of space.

A full moon is pictured rising above a thick cloud bank in the darkening blue evening sky between buildings.

The moon caught rising over Paris in January 2026 (Image credit: Photo by Adnan Farzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Sun Yongdong froze a moment in time as the orange moon rose above the serene mountains in Beijing, China, later that same night.

A full moon is pictured rising in the evening sky over a serene, misty mountain range bordering a city.

A Wolf Moon rises over Beijing, China in January 2026. (Image credit: Photo by Sun Yongdong/VCG via Getty Images)

Our next lunar view comes courtesy of Ismeal Adnan Yaqoob, who imaged the lunar disk on the night of Jan. 3 as it passed the apex of the Royal Clock Tower over Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The full lunar disk shines at the apex of an ornate, illuminated clock tower in a dark night sky.

The moon shines over Mecca on the night of Jan. 3. (Image credit: Photo by Ismael Adnan Yaqoob/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Finally, photographer Aditya Irawan was able to take a gorgeously detailed shot of the full Wolf Moon as it hung in the skies over West Java in Indonesia. Tycho Crater dominates the right side of the lunar disk, as the Kepler and Copernicus impact sites brighten the southern lunar maria.

A detailed photo of a full moon shining in a black night sky.

A detailed shot of the Wolf Moon dominating the skies over West Java. (Image credit: Photo by Aditya Irawan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Feeling inspired to capture your own shots of the lunar disk? Then be sure to read our roundup of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography, along with our guide to imaging the moon. If you're in the mood for more astrophotography then you can also check out our 10 favorite astrophotos of 2025 as submitted by Space.com's readers!

Editor's Note: If you would like to share your lunar astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Anthony Wood joined Space.com in April 2025 after contributing articles to outlets including IGN, New Atlas and Gizmodo. He has a passion for the night sky, science, Hideo Kojima, and human space exploration, and can’t wait for the day when astronauts once again set foot on the moon.

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January full moon wows skywatchers with a striking 'Wolf Supermoon' (photos)

The January full Wolf Supermoon in photos