Full Moon in January

By Alexander Merz · Updated on 28 August 2026 · Details checked on 14 September 2026

Here you will find the exact date of the full moon in January – with the time for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the traditional name of the month’s full moon and the dates for the coming years.

And if you want to see the Moon closer than with the naked eye: our buying guide for beginners explains which telescope makes sense to start with, what budget to plan for and which classic mistakes to avoid.

How the January full moon sits in the sky

Because the full moon stands exactly opposite the Sun, in January it climbs particularly high – about as high as the Sun does at midsummer. It shines almost all night long and casts hard shadows.

Wolf Moon – where the name comes from

The Wolf Moon takes its name from the north-east of North America, where the Algonquian peoples and later the European settlers gave names to the monthly full moons. In January, when prey became scarce, the wolves came closer to the settlements, and their howling carried far through the long nights. The German farmers’ calendar knew the month as Hartung – after the hard-frozen ground – or as Eismond, the ice moon.

Almost all the full moon names in common use today come from North America and were popularised by US almanacs. German-speaking Europe had its own names for the months: January was called Hartung or Eismond. Both traditions mean the same thing – an attempt to tie the course of the year to what is actually happening outdoors.

What else is going on in the January sky

Right at the start of the month January brings the Quadrantids, one of the strongest meteor showers of the year. The nights are long and dark – the best time for Orion and the winter constellations.

Full moon in January: the dates for the coming years

The interval from one full moon to the next averages 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes. Because our calendar months are longer, the date moves forward year by year – which is why the full moon in January never falls on the same date. All the coming dates are listed in the full moon calendar, and our page about the Moon explains how the phases come about.

The dates that are actually worth it are often months apart – and easily forgotten. So you do not miss one:

Observing the full moon – an honest note

As beautiful as the full moon is to the naked eye, in a telescope it is at its least interesting in exactly this phase. Because the Sun shines straight down onto the lunar surface, the shadows are missing and craters look flat. You see considerably more a few days before or after full moon along the day-night boundary, the so-called terminator.

If you do want to look at the full moon through a telescope, you should use a moon filter – without one it is uncomfortably glaring. For 1.25-inch eyepieces the Apertura 1.25" Moon Filter*Omegon Premium Moon Filter 1.25″* is all you need (at $14.95€ 19.90) – spending more buys you nothing here. More on this in our buying guide to moon observation.

Long, dark winter nights – this is where a telescope really pays off: Skywatcher Dobson Telescope N 130/650 Heritage FlexTube

A compact tabletop Dobson with a true parabolic mirror. Folds down, fits in a bag: the Moon, planets and the bright deep-sky classics.

Price: € 265

View at Astroshop* →

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