The Wolf Moon rising at 17:15 – 5th January 2015, for the one and only time this New year, is the first full moon following the winter solstice. In a little touch of moon wolf magic the 2015 Wolf Moon also coincides with the arrival of Earth at the closest point to the sun that it is possible for it to reach in its orbit (perihelion).
Earth stands just 91.4 million miles from the sun, at this point and consequently the full moon burns brighter than even the Europan Ice Wolves on their frozen world of ice…
The Wolf Moon has also come to mark the start of a long year of stargazing.
January is the only month of the year when Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be viewed without a telescope. And if you look very carefully in the magic of the moonlight and maybe wish upon a star you may see the flash of the moon wolves of icy Europa…moon of Jupiter….if you’re really quiet you may here the call of the wolf-song across the star-ways of time and space…the moon-song of the star-born of Europa….
Happy New Year 2015 from the Ice-wolves of Europa!
NASA has designated New Year 2011 the YEAR OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Spanning a Martian year of 23 months The Year of the Solar System honours the unparalleled discoveries made during NASA’s missions to explore both our neighbouring planets and also the outer edges of the Solar System. Throughout 2011 and into 2012 there will be new missions in the pipeline for the continued exploration of Jupiter, Earth’s satellite – the Moon, and Mars. Other exploratory missions will include ones to the asteroids and comets, the Sun, Mercury, Saturn and our home world Earth.
FEBRUARY 14 STARDUST NExT SPACECRAFT encounters COMET TEMPL 1, and MESSENGER enters orbit around MERCURY ON MARS 18 FEBRUARY 2011.
JULY 2011 DAWN SPACECRAFT will enter orbit round giant ASTEROID VESTA. The space probe has will spend one full year hopefully impressing researchers with ground breaking new information from this alien world.
AUGUST 11TH JUNO SPACECRAFT TO JUPITER will be launched. And the roving SCIENCE LAB’ CURIOSITY will be launched to MARS IN NOVEMBER 2011.
2012 Mars Rover OPPORTUNITY will head out into the heart of city sized impact crater ENDEAVOUR having travelled almost 2 miles from Opportunity’s original landing site.
The DAWN SPACECRAFT will fire up its ion engines and prepare to leave ASTEROID VESTA and for the first time in space history a spacecraft orbiting an alien world will break orbit and head out for another.
Spacecraft on its way to the Asteroids
The YEAR OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM ends in August 2012 when the roving nuclear-powered SCIENCE LAB CURIOSITY lands on MARS. CURIOSITY with its advanced sensors and unmatched mobility is expected to open a whole new chapter in the exploration of the Red Planet.
News Flash!!…New Moon Rising!
(Start Howling!!!)
Start Howling! New Moon rising (4 Jan) marks the first phase of the 2011 JANUARY FULL WOLF MOON (19 Jan)
Early morning January 4th will see the New Moon passing in front of a portion of the Sun creating a PARTIAL ECLIPSE, one of four throughout the year but the only one visible from Europe, Africa and E Asia, and from London at 07:47.
Also the darkness of the New Moon makes this an ideal time to view the QUADRANTID METEOR SHOWER on 3/4th January which with up to 90 meteors/hour will be the best and brightest shower of the New Year. So don’t forget to go check it out!
Tonight’s January Full “Wolf” Moon is the second Full Moon this month and the biggest and brightest of 2010. It is 14% wider and 30% brighter than Full Moons at any other time this year. For some it will seem close enough to reach out and touch.
We see this month’s Full Moon as being so big, because the Moon does not orbit the Earth in a circle, but an ellipse. One side is 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other. When this side is approaching close to Earth it is known as “Perigee” and this applies to tonight’s Full Wolf Moon.
The Full Wolf moon will not be alone, sharing instead its star-world with the brilliant red planet Mars which will appear in the skies of Earth as a bright star-like object. Through a small telescope Mars shows a bright white Northern polar cap and several subtle dark markings.
Mars has returned to prominence for 1st time in 2 years. It is at it’s brightest on 29 January when it is in opposition to the Sun, when it will lie 62 million miles (100 million km) from Earth and 153 million miles (247 million km) from the Sun.
At this time Mars is outshone only by Sirius “The Dog Star” (to its R) and Jupiter (motherworld of Icewolf homeworld – Europa) which sets in the West not long after Mars, which rises at sunset.
This is because we see the Moon as “full” when it is most directly opposite our Sun. (Opposition) At this time of January 2010 Full Wolf Moon, both the Full Moon and Mars are in opposition with Earth’s Sun, so the two worlds will slip silently through the night sky in unusually close proximity. Mars lies just to the left of the Moon.
THIS IS A VERY UNCOMMON ASTRONOMICAL EVENT! NOT TO BE MISSED!
The Full Moon in January is called the Wolf Moon. It is named after the cold and hungry wolf packs that in the bleak Native American midwinter in the ice and deep snows would regularly howl hungrily outside the Indian villages.
It is also sometimes referred to as the “Old Moon”, or the “Moon After Yule.”
Ice wolves of Europa. Intergalactic star wolves running with the moon and the stars in the light of another world. Callers of the moon wolves-song and interstellar hunters across the icy surface of the Europan seas. Echoing the call of an alien world and the whispering of the moonshadows, the call of the star songs, and the dream of worlds beyond the stars and cities in the sky.
The YEAR OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM ends in August 2012 when the roving nuclear-powered SCIENCE LAB CURIOSITY lands on MARS. CURIOSITY with its advanced sensors and unmatched mobility is expected to open a whole new chapter in the exploration of the Red Planet. 
Icewolves of Europa 