Full Moon In 2017

The Moon shows people its full face every once in a month. In fact, the Moon shows the same side as it always faces the planet while its other face is in the shadow.

In reality, the full moon is never perfectly full. The perfect full moon can only happen when the Moon, Earth and Sun are perfectly aligned to each other. This alignment thus creates the lunar eclipse, according to Space.com.

There also is a phenomenon called Blue Moon where the Moon is at its full form twice a month or four times in a season. The upcoming full moon is on January 12, 2017. It will rise at around 6:34 a.m. EST or 11:34 a.m. Universal Time, according to Moon Giant.

It is called Wolf Moon by the Algonquins of New England, according to the Father's Almanac. Different other cultures have also different names for it like Holiday Moon by the Chinese, Cold Moon by Cherokee, Quiet Moon by Celtic and Rainbow Fish Moon by New Guinea.

The last seen full moon prior to the Jan. 12 full moon was on Dec. 13. It was the third of the three consecutive supermoons in 2016. Supermoons are full moons that coincided with the arrival of the Moon at perigee, thus the point at which it is closest to Earth and to its monthly orbit.

Lots of cultures have given the full moon distinct names. The names that occurred in their entire month were applied. Several names that were commonly used in the United States are listed on the Father's Almanac.

This explains that some variations on the Moon's names and, in general, the same ones were used by among the Algonquin tribe that is from New England on the west to the Lake Superior. The European settlers are following their own customs and made their own names.