A Super Wolf Moon will rise above Toronto on New Year's Day

The first night of 2018 will be a bright one as a stunning Supermoon rises over Toronto and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere.

Traditionally called a "wolf moon," January's first and biggest full moon of the year will occur on Jan. 1 at 9:24 p.m. ET. 

The moon will start rising at around 4:48 p.m. on Monday, meaning that the sun (which sets at 4:51 p.m.) will share the sky with this year's wolf moon for a few glorious minutes, "though you'll need a view of a relatively flat, unobscured horizon to see it happen."

Full Wolf Moon: New Year's Supermoon Is the Biggest of the Year - This New Year's Day will bring a "Full Wolf Moon," the biggest of the supermoons expected in 2018. https://t.co/KiqiTe21fV

— Space Nuts (@SpaceNutsPodcst) December 29, 2017

"Supermoons  happen when a full moon approximately coincides with the moon's perigee, or a point in its orbit at which it is closest to Earth," writes the science website. "This makes the moon appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual."

Much to the chagrin of my imagination, the "wolf" part of this moon has nothing to do with the moon being shaped like a wolf. The name is said to come from early Colonial times, when the bright January moon made wolves howl in hunger outside villages.

View of the Wolf Moon rising over the #Toronto city skyline this weekend (Mark Blinch/Reuters) via @globeandmail pic.twitter.com/kxU4fSxVEs

— phaedra ☾ (@JacqValencia) January 25, 2016

The New Year's Supermoon is the second of three in a row, with the final one on January 31 also categorized as a Blue moon, which marks the second full moon in a calendar month. It'll also feature a full lunar eclipse, the combination of which is very rare indeed.