Super moon kicks off the year in skywatching

By SUZANNE DOWNING

The new year is shaping up to be a busy one for skywatchers, with 2026 delivering a mix of super moons, micro moons, a rare total lunar eclipse that will reveal a red moon, and even a blue moon, which Alaskans won’t see due to summer sunlight.

The celestial calendar gets an early start this weekend. In spite of the frigid temperatures across Alaska, Earth reaches its closest point to the sun on Jan. 3. That same day brings the year’s first super moon, when the full moon is visibly larger and brighter than usual.

The January full moon, known as the Wolf Moon, will also be the last supermoon visible until November. Weather may limit viewing in some areas (ice fog in Fairbanks, for instance) but much of the state will be clear and cold, and the nights are still long in the northern hemisphere, and so the moon may be viewed even during the “daytime.”

One of the year’s most dramatic sky events arrives March 3, when a total lunar eclipse occurs. The eclipse will last about 58 minutes, during which the moon will appear to be a deep red hue. That moon is called a blood moon due to the color that occurs as Earth’s shadow fully covers the moon and sunlight filtered through Earth’s atmosphere reaches the lunar surface. The last time a total lunar eclipse was visible in North America was in November 2022. Although totality occurs roughly from 2:04 am to 3:02 am AKST, a partial eclipse will last several hours. The next partial lunar eclipse will be in August, but again, Alaska daylight will get in the way of that one.

May has a double feature, with two full moons in the same month. The first full moon rises May 1, followed by a second on May 31. The second one is known as a blue moon, a term used for the second full moon in a month. Both May full moons will be micro moons, meaning the moon will be near its farthest point from Earth and appears slightly smaller and dimmer than usual. The May 31 micromoon will be the smallest full moon of the year. In Alaska, it’s not really possible to see these summer moons with the naked eye since the sun obliterates the view. Thus, for great skywatching, it’s Jan. 3’s super moon!