‘Wolf Moon’ to illuminate Bahrain sky tonight!

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

It’s time to dust off your binoculars or telescope again and keep your eyes on the skies for the first full moon of 2021 tonight!

From around the world tonight and tomorrow, the year’s first full moon, known as “Wolf Moon”, will take over the night sky.

It will light up the night-time from dusk till dawn.

In Bahrain, its peak fullness will be witnessed at 10.16pm, or 2.16 p.m. EST, 7.16 p.m. UTC, January 28, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Barring cloud coverage, the highest full moon of the year should be visible as it begins peeking over the horizon around sunset.

The celestial body will still look especially large and bright throughout the night.

The moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from tonight through the early part of Saturday morning.

The January full moon was named the “Wolf Moon” by early Native Americans because it was traditionally believed that packs of wolves, due to hunger, were more often heard howling around this time, the cold, long nights of the winter month.

However, Native American folklore believes howling and other wolf vocalisations are generally used to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting.

Other names used for the January full moon include the “Cold Moon,” “Frost Exploding Moon” and “Freese Up Moon.”

Names of moons often come from Native American tribes and culture or date back to colonial times.

The Assiniboine people called it the centre moon because the event was recognised as the midpoint of winter, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Experts say that the best time to witness the annual celestial event will be at moonrise or moonset, as the moon will be too bright at its peak for people to look at.

In order to clearly see the “Wolf Moon,” experts recommend looking from at least a second-floor balcony or window — the higher, the better, as long as it is safe.

Once in position, simply wait for moonrise, and you should be able to see the circular phenomenon at around that time.

If you happen to miss the “Wolf Moon,” or you simply love stargazing, mark your calendar for the next full moon which is expected to appear Saturday, February 27.

This one is called the “Snow Moon.” But for tonight, get out, look up, and share the wonders of nature! Enjoy watching “Wolf Moon” shining bright in the sky.

Best way of taking photograph of the ‘Wolf Moon’

To take the best photo of the “Full Moon”, you need to turn your flash off and your ISO sensitivity down.

Setting your focus to 100 will also help to capture the beauty. If you are using a digital camera, you can try an aperture of f/11 to f/16 and a shutter speed of between 1/60th and 1/125th of a second.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT “FULL MOON”

The moon, earth’s only natural satellite and the largest and brightest object in our night sky, has enchanted and inspired mankind for centuries.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days and is when the moon is completely illuminated by the sun’s rays.

It occurs when the earth is directly aligned between the sun and the moon.

While most years see 12 full moons, some years have 13.

This means that some months will see two full moons, with the second known as a Blue Moon.