Wolf micromoon will rise tonight that is smaller because it's at the furthest ... trends now
A 'wolf micromoon' will light up the night sky Friday evening, marking the year's first full moon.
This rare display comes as the moon is at its furthest point from Earth, sitting 251,910 miles away, which gives it a smaller appearance to humans on the ground.
Micromoons are about seven percent smaller than an average, while supermoons are about seven percent larger.
Skygazers will want to step outside at 6pm ET to see the moon at its fullest, but if you miss this event, the next one will be the 'Snow Moon' on February 5.
Skygazers will see a full 'micromoon' Friday night. It will appear like a dot in the night sky because the moon is at its farthest point from Earth. Pictured is a full micromoon in the sky over the River Thames in London in 2020.
The average distance between the moon and Earth is 238,855 miles, but our natural satellite can be 225,291 miles during its closest approach, known as perigee - the farthest is apogee.
Since the moon is at its furthest point in orbit, it will seem much smaller and less bright when it hangs in the night sky.
For comparison, supermoons are 14.5 percent wider and 25 percent brighter than the one set to be seen tonight.
There are no universal rules regarding how far away the Moon must be to qualify as a micromoon.
The micromoon, however, means the evening will be unusually dark, offering the perfect conditions for stargazing.
The name 'wolf' stems from how packs of wolves were heard howling outside of the villages amid the cold and deep snows of winter.
Along with dazzling in the night sky, a full moon is also known to impact human mood, sleep and appetite when it appears.
On the night of a full moon, we get an average of 30 minutes less deep, dreamless sleep, while our best sleep tends to happen on the night of a half moon.
While the moon is full, everyone will experience less sleep, but women have a more dramatic drop in REM sleep - rapid eye movement sleep, during which we dream.
And there is a spike of REM sleep for men during a full moon.
The full moon can knock our appetites out of whack, too.
During deep sleep, we produce more of a hormone called leptin, which helps us to feel full and
