Wolf Moon: First full moon of 2024 dazzles in Northern Ireland

The Wolf Moon brightened the County Down sky snapped by Paul McFarland

The first full moon of 2024 lit up the skies across Northern Ireland on Thursday night.

The moon made for some amazing images as weather watchers aimed cameras at the sky for the perfect picture.

On Wednesday, the moon looked full as some weather watchers took snaps but it wasn't quite complete until Thursday.

Each month, the full moon has a different traditional name.

Medieval Europeans and a number of native American tribes have settled on the name Wolf Moon for the January full moon, although it is unclear where the name first originated.

Native Americans and medieval Europeans named this moon a Wolf Moon. It is thought to be because wolves howled more at this time of year as there was less food.

It is also often called the Moon After Yule in the Anglo-Saxon tradition.

In other European regions, it is referred to as Ice Moon and the Old Moon.

This white orb in a dark sky was snapped by Paul McFarland

A full moon occurs when the moon is fully illuminated by the sun, which happens when the earth is positioned directly between the sun and the moon.

We usually have 12 full moons in one calendar year, although some years we can have 13.

Although some showers occurred on Thursday evening, there was a brief window between about 18:00 and 21:00 GMT (west to east) to capture the sheer magnitude of the Wolf Moon.

If you missed it, there's a second chance to see the full moon on Friday evening.

Don't forget to wrap up if you're planning to do some moon watching.