Space: January’s full Wolf Moon

The first full moon of 2025, known as the Wolf Moon, is on its way, marking a bright start to the new year. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Wolf Moon will arrive on January 13th 2025. The Wolf moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Sunday evening into Wednesday morning. The Old Farmer’s Almanac first began publishing the names for the full moons in the 1930s.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac recorded that January’s full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time. Indigenous groups also have different names for this first full moon. Other traditional names for the January Moon emphasize the harsh coldness of the season, Cold Moon, Frost Exploding Moon, Freeze Up Moon, and Severe Moon.

Hard Moon highlights the phenomenon of the fallen snow developing a hard crust. Canada Goose Moon, Great Moon, Greetings Moon, and Spirit Moon have also been recorded as Moon names for this month. Some also call it the Moon after Yule, referencing the three-day winter solstice festival of pre-Christian Europe. NASA states this lunar cycle offers great stargazing opportunities, with five planets visible in the evening sky.

Venus, the brightest, visible in the southwest, shifts from half-full to a crescent and reaches peak brightness just after February’s full moon.

Jupiter, second brightest in the east, its four moons—Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io—are visible with a telescope. Mars, low in the east-northeast, will reach its closest and brightest just days after the Wolf Moon. Saturn, near Venus in the southwest, its moon Titan and thin rings are visible through a telescope. Saturn will appear closest to Venus on January 18th 2025.

Uranus, high in the southeast, is visible with a telescope or in very dark skies. These planets move westward around Polaris during this lunar cycle, making them easier to spot earlier in the evening, perfect for backyard stargazing. Just four days after the Wolf Moon passed in front of the Pleiades star cluster, the moon will cross paths with another noteworthy celestial object on Monday evening, January 13th 2025, when it will cover the planet Mars, now shining as bright as it will get in this new year of 2025.

An opportunity to see the moon occult a bright planet at night does not happen too often. For Mars, a specific location on Earth can see it happen once about every 14 years. So, if you are fortunate to live in the occultation zone and the weather cooperates, this upcoming event is one that really should not be missed. The Wolf Moon will be mere hours past full phase during the occultation.

The Wolf Moon will be diametrically opposite to the sun in the sky.

By sheer coincidence, Mars is also opposite to the sun, though its actual moment of opposition will not come until late on Wednesday, January 15th 2025. Still, both objects, the Wolf Moon and Mars will be near enough to each other so that during Monday evening, the moon will temporarily hide the planet from view, and much of North America has a ringside seat to observe it. The zone of visibility for this event encompasses practically all of the contiguous United States, as well as much of central and eastern Canada.

Since Mars will be near opposition when it has its lunar rendezvous, it will be shining at its very brightest for this current apparition, glowing at magnitude -1.3, just a trifle less prominent compared to the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. And yet, just before Mars disappears and later reappears from behind the moon, it likely will be overwhelmed by the Wolf Moon’s brilliance. The Wolf Moon will be nearly 40 thousand times brighter than Mars, so in order to actually see it vanish or reappear you will need a telescope or at the very least, good binoculars.

A few hours before, or after the occultation however, Mars will be plainly visible with unaided eyes, glowing brightly near to the dazzling disk of this first full moon of the winter season. Unlike a star which is a pinpoint of light and would disappear and reappear in an instant, Mars appears as a small disk in telescopes, owing to its relatively large angular size, the occultation will occur at a rather leisurely pace. So, the disappearance of Mars behind the Wolf Moon’s bright limb for most places, will take anywhere from about 30 seconds to almost a minute.

Mars’ reappearance will also be gradual.

Moving to the east against the background stars at its own apparent diameter each hour, the Wolf Moon will appear to approach Mars from the west and ultimately pass in front of it, and then shortly thereafter, uncover it, and leave it behind as the moon continues to move to the east. In the United States, the northern limit of visibility for this occultation will pass southwest to northeast along a strip measuring approximately 25 miles wide, a spectacular partial occultation will be visible in which Mars’ disk will be seen skirting the edge of the moon. To the north, outside of this zone, Mars will appear to barely miss touching the limb of the moon.

Meanwhile, the southern limit of the occultation will skirt the Florida Keys. In October 2024, the Super Heavy booster was now back at its launchpad, suspended mid-air between two massive metal arms called “chopsticks”. Waves of deafening cheers rang out on the livestream as SpaceX engineers and employees celebrated the achievement. While the Super Heavy booster’s job was over, the Starship spacecraft was still soaring through space.

The vehicle lit up its own engines after detaching from the booster and coasted through space. A severe geomagnetic storm brought spectacular light displays to many parts of the United States, with skies as far south as San Antonio bathed in rich hues of magenta and green. The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights as they are commonly known, are often more visible in Earth’s polar regions, but due to heightened solar activity these dancing displays could be seen with the naked eye in numerous southern states.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the storm was ranked 4 out of 5 in severity, allowing for more widespread illuminations across night skies, particularly across Europe.

However in Lubbock, the Aurora Borealis is putting on quite the show across West Texas. Further north, auroras were spotted over Queens, New York, in an unusually colorful light display for such a densely populated area. The timing of the strong solar activity brought the spectacle to many other regions of the world, with photographers sharing images from England to China, and even Australia, where the phenomenon known as Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, was captured in Fish Creek, near Melbourne.

Auroras appeared to rain down over pumpjacks in Alberta, Canada. Skies burst with red and green behind a windmill in Buckinghamshire, England. Lights showered a spectacular array of colors over the Kissing Trees in Kinghorn, Scotland. The Northern Lights, weakened though still visible, were spotted behind an observation tower in New Braunfels, outside of San Antonio.

Visible solar activity is significantly less common in more southern regions of the United States. Illuminations could be seen over the Jinshanling Great Wall in China’s Hebei Province. A glowing red Kyiv was visible, as even the city lights did not manage to dampen the skies over the Ukrainian capital. Lights also trailed from traffic as fiery skies danced overhead in Brandenburg, Germany.

In October 2023, 12P/Pons-Brooks followed a lengthy orbital path, returning to our vicinity roughly every 71 years.

Occasionally, the gravitational forces, orbital interactions, and cosmic collisions in outer space could disrupt the trajectory of an asteroid or comet, sending them on erratic paths that brought them close to Earth, potentially posing an impact risk. Fortunately, the majority of these celestial objects were relatively small and did not pose a significant threat of causing harm. A volcanic comet the size of a small city exploded as it headed toward the sun, emitting a cloud of ice and gas that looked like a gigantic pair of horns, the Devil Comet is a cryovolcanic, or cold volcano.

An astronomical spectacle, the Devil Comet, known for its ice volcano and distinctive horns, made its way toward Earth. While this massive celestial visitor might seem ominous with its fiery moniker, experts assured that it posed no danger to humanity. The Devil Comet, also known by its scientific name 12P/Pons-Brooks, first graced our skies in 1812, with a subsequent appearance in 1883.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this cosmic traveler was its status as one of just around 20 comets with an active ice volcano. These unique cold volcano comets contained a fascinating mix of ice, dust, and gas known as cryomagma. 12P/Pons-Brooks was set to dazzle earthlings in mid-April 2024 when it reaches its brightest phase. At that time, 12P/Pons-Brooks would be positioned approximately 144,158,116 miles away from Earth.

Comets were renowned for their unpredictability, especially regarding their brightness as they approach Earth.

While it might not become a household name like a total solar eclipse, 12P/Pons-Brooks was anticipated to be a splendid celestial sight, visible not only to stargazers with the naked eye but also to those with basic binoculars or a starter backyard telescope. 12P/Pons-Brooks’ fluctuating brilliance added to the allure of these celestial wanderers. 12P/Pons-Brooks earned its curious moniker when astronomers identified striking horns protruding from its nucleus.

The horns were actually tails of gas and dust that result from unusual outbursts still being studied by scientists. These outbursts happened when comets suddenly became more active, expelling gas and dust at an increased rate. 12P/Pons-Brooks brightened really rapidly and then sort of fades back to the brightness it had before. 12P/Pons-Brooks’ nucleus stretched approximately 12.4 miles, nearly twice the size of Mount Everest.

This colossal size set 12P/Pons-Brooks apart from typical comets, which generally measured between 0.6 and 1.8 miles in width. This distinctiveness generated significant excitement among both astronomers and the general public. This Devil may have horns, but it brought with it a mesmerizing show that was set to light up our Earthly skies. The violent explosion seen by astronomers on October 5th 2023 was the second in four months.

Radiation from the sun heated the comet’s insides, the pressure built up and the comet violently exploded, shooting its frosty guts out into space through large cracks in the nucleus’s shell.

The explosion produced a cloud that resembles a pair of horns. 12P/Pons-Brooks was first spotted in 1812 when comet hunter Jean-Louis Pons discovered it. The Devil Comet reached its closest point to Earth on April 21st 2024. The next time 12P/Pons-Brooks would be that close to Earth would be in 2095. 12P/Pons-Brook came in the wake of comet 2022 E3 (ZTF), the so-called green comet, and 2020’s comet NEOWISE, but looked set to put on an extra special display.

Generally, comets were between 0.6 and 1.8 miles wide, so the Devil Comet was big, an outlier, and rare. The Devil Comet might be bright enough that you could see with your naked eye or with binoculars, but that was not because it was super close, it was because it was just very bright. The solar system was a violent place, as evidenced by the fiery history of 12P/Pons–Brooks.

In March 2023, United States start-up Relativity Space was planning to launch its 3D-printed rocket Terran 1, skipping planned tests, and heading straight for orbit. Terran 1 was the largest 3D-printed object to attempt orbital flight. Terran 1 was about 35 meters tall, making it one of the smallest orbital rockets in the industry, and 85 per cent of its mass was 3D-printed.

Terran 1 was designed to lift up to 1250 kilograms into low-Earth orbit, and Relativity Space was charging $12 million per flight.

In comparison, SpaceX’s ubiquitous Falcon 9 could lift more than 22,000 kilograms into orbit and cost about $67 million per flight. Terran 1 was fully expendable, and for the first test flight it would not have a payload. If Terran 1 made it into space, the flight would be considered a success. Relativity Space opted to skip one last planned test of Terran 1 and go straight to the launch.

The skipped planned test was static fire, in which Terran 1’s engines were fired while the rocket was secured to the ground. By not completing static fire, Relativity Space accepted the increased likelihood of an abort on its first launch attempt. But if all systems were performing nominally, Relativity Space would rather release and launch during its next operation than continue to wear the vehicle through additional testing on the ground.

Terran 1 and each of its engines breezed through a barrage of tests, and one more test would potentially cause more wear and tear than it was worth. Relativity Space’s stated goal was to facilitate an industrial society on Mars, and Terran 1 was far too small to make it there. While Terran 1 was designed to bring small satellites into orbit, its primary purpose was a smaller-scale prototype for Relativity Space’s 66-meter-tall Terran R rocket, which the company intended to launch in 2024.

Terran R was planned to be fully reusable, mostly 3D-printed and able to carry up to 20,000 kilograms into orbit.

Aside from launching larger satellites into orbit around Earth, Terran R would also eventually offer customers a point-to-point space freighter capable of missions between the Earth, Moon, and Mars. That was the vehicle customers need. Terran 1 was Relativity Space’s pathfinder, its development platform to get to Terran R. Relativity Space, a California-based startup that counted billionaire Mark Cuban as one of its early investors, would try to launch the first 3D-printed, methane-fueled rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral.

The test flight had a three-hour launch window, and there was a 90% chance of favorable weather. Terran 1 would lift off from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission was a demonstration for Relativity Space’s Terran 1 to haul more than a ton of cargo into low Earth orbit. Terran 1 was aimed at the commercial launch market for small to mid-sized satellites, making Relativity Space one of several privately-developed small satellite launch companies in the last few years.

There were a number of firsts on Terran 1. Terran 1 had the chance of being the first liquid oxygen rocket to make it to orbit. Terran 1 had, by far, the highest 3D-printed content of any rocket in history at about 85% by mass, where no any other rocket had gone past 4%. Relativity Space nicknamed the Terran 1’s test flight as “Good Luck, Have Fun.”

Terran 1 could become the first methane-fueled launcher to reach orbit if the eight-minute flight goes well, beating two much larger rockets, United Launch Alliance (ULA)’s Vulcan and SpaceX’s Starship.

Methane was the propellant choice of the future, especially for reusable rockets. Methane was a more efficient fuel than kerosene, which was used on SpaceX’s Falcon 9, Russia’s Soyuz launcher, and ULA’s Atlas 5. Methane also burned cleaner and left less residue inside an engine than kerosene, easing refurbishment and reuse between missions. Before the first Terran 1 had even left the launch pad, the company started development of a larger fully reusable rocket called the Terran R, a vehicle that would become a point-to-point space freighter capable of missions between the Earth, Moon, and Mars.