January Shine: Brighter Wolf Moon awes citizens

The moon appeared to be 16 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter last night

ISLAMABAD: The citizens of the capital enjoyed the first super moon of 2018 on Monday night. The super moon of January is called Wolf Moon after the howling hungry wolves in the wintery month. Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics Professor Javed Iqbal said the moon will appear to be 16 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter tonight. He also shared that two super- moon will be visible this month; the next month will become visible on January 31. Interestingly, there will also be a lunar eclipse on January 31, he added. The first full moon of the year has been named after howling wolves. In some cultures, it was known as Old Moon, Ice Moon, Snow Moon, and the Moon after Yule. A full moon rises when the Earth sits directly between the sun and the moon. On December 3, 2017, a super-moon had lit up the skies across different countries in the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2018.