A full moon associated with snow and storms blazed bright starting Tuesday and will still be visible through midnight EST Thursday, alongside bright light from the star Regulus.
According to NASA, this February full moon goes by many names and is connected to multiple holidays.
In the U.S., it is known by the name “Snow Moon” since the Maine Farmer’s Almanac identified that as its Native American name in the 1930s. Tribes living in the Northeastern U.S. gave it this name due to the heavy snows that would fall during that season, said the almanac.
It was also called the “Storm Moon” and “Hunger Moon” because the bad weather made hunting so difficult, said NASA.
Today February is still one of the snowiest months of the year on the East Coast of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monthly averages for the Washington, D.C. area airports from 1991 through 2020 show that it was the snowiest month of the year, ahead of January.
February moon names listed by the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association include “Deep Snow Moon,” as a Mahican Dialect name from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Wisconsin. Suckerfish Moon, First Flower Moon, Midwinter Moon, and Little Sister of the Waning Moon are other Native American moon names listed for the month, according to the organization.
NASA said old European names for this moon are “Wolf Moon” and “Candles Moon,” the latter of which is tied to the Candlemas Christian holiday celebrated on Feb. 2.
In both the Hindu and Buddhist calendars, the moon is called Magha Purnima. For Hindus, Magha is a month of austerity and acts of charity. In Sri Lanka, this full Moon is called Navam Poya.
Sri Lankan Navam Poya celebrations include a procession of approximately 5,000 people and many elephants called Gangaramaya Navam. Celebrations related to the February full moon include the Buddhist holiday Māgha Pūjā or Saṅgha Day, the religion’s most important festival; the Jewish holiday Purim Katan and the Chinese Lantern Festival celebrating the end of Chinese New Year.
This full moon falls in the middle of some months on lunar calendars, including the Chinese calendar, the first Adar of the Hebrew calendar and Rajab, a one of four sacred months forbidding warfare on the Islamic calendar.
The day this full moon reached its peak was Wednesday around noon EST. By March 4, sky gazers will be able to see a waxing crescent moon known as the “Wet Moon” or “Cheshire Moon” in the western sky. This crescent moon will appear near the Pleiades on March 8, near the bright star Pollux on March 12, and near the bright star Regulus on March 15.
After that moon appears near Regulus, the next full moon will appear on the evening of Friday, March 18.
Visit NASA to learn about other celestial happenings through the end of February.
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