Full Moon

Tonight we will be able to see the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. Full moons are actually given names, which is a tradition dating back to the Native Americans who used the names to keep track of the seasons.

This full moon has been given the name of Full Wolf Moon, which is described as such on Space.com:
"Jan. 30, 1:18 a.m. EST -- Full Wolf Moon. Amid the zero cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. It was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule. In some tribes this was the Full Snow Moon; most applied that name to the next moon. The Moon will also arrive at perigee (it's closest point to Earth on its non-circular orbit) less than three hours later, at 4:04 a.m. EST at a distance of 221,577 mi. (356,593 km.) from Earth. So this is the biggest full moon of 2010. Very high ocean tides can be expected during the next two or three days, thanks to the coincidence of perigee with full moon. "

You can read more about the full moon names for 2010 here. Enjoy the full moon and all its glory!