Wolf supermoon rises on Saturday

The first full Moon of the year is set to illuminate the UK skies on 3 January bringing with it some welcome dazzle to the post-Christmas dip, the BBC reports.

Also known as the Wolf Moon, it will be the fourth supermoon in a row following October's Harvest Moon, November's Beaver Moon and the Cold Moon in December.

Viewing is dependent on the weather, but hopefully with largely clear skies it will be a celestial treat to look forward to as the fairy lights are being packed away.

If you miss it, the next chance to see the Moon so large and bright in the sky won't be until November, although there is the extra treat of two full Moons in May making 2026 a rare year with 13 instead of 12 full Moons.

Why is it called a supermoon?

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is elliptical - that is not quite perfectly circular - which means its distance from us varies.

When at its closest point the Moon is described as being in "perigee" and if that moment coincides with a full Moon we call it a supermoon.

At the perigee the Moon is about 220,000 miles away from Earth, compared to at its furthest point - or apogee - around 250,000 miles away.

This means that the Moon appears to be larger and brighter in the night sky.

We generally have three or four supermoons every year so they are not rare - but it is unusual to have four in a row.

Why the 'Wolf Moon'?

Full Moons have names that hark back to ancient traditions before modern calendars were used.

They were helpful ways to mark the changing seasons and the names tend to relate to significant timely events, for example the Hunter, the Harvest and the Flower Moons.