The first ‘Supermoon’ of the year 2026 was seen in India, have you seen the bright moon? Know why it is special

India also witnessed the first ‘Supermoon’ of the year 2026, popularly known as ‘Wolf Moon’. During this astronomical event, the Moon will appear 30% brighter than a normal full moon. Have you seen it? If you haven’t then definitely see today’s moon. Today i.e. around midnight on Saturday, it will shine above your head and a bright star will be visible near it, which will be Jupiter. The Moon visible on this day is located at perigee, which means the point in the Moon’s orbit that is closest to the Earth.

Why is supermoon called wolf moon?

In astronomical language it is also called Super Wolf Moon. Supermoon also known as ‘Wolf Moon’. The reason for this is that in the earlier days during the severe cold of January, the howl of wolf packs was heard more in the Northern Hemisphere and for this reason the full moon occurring on this day was called Wolf Moon. This name is associated with the ancient folklore of the Northern Hemisphere. Today’s Wolf Moon is special because at this time the Earth is closer to the Sun, due to which the sunlight falling on the Moon becomes more clear and this is called Supermoon.

Why is supermoon special?

On normal days, the Sun is about 14 crore 96 lakh kilometers away from the Earth, but when there is a supermoon, the Sun is also close to the Earth and the full moon is around its closest point to the Earth, which is called perigee. Let us tell you that the orbit of the Moon is not completely round but oval, hence its distance from the Earth keeps changing from time to time and when the Moon is closer to the Earth, then it appears larger in size and brighter in light. Although this difference may not be very apparent to the eyes, you will feel the glow.

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