When to See February's Full Moon

Photo: Mike Pellinni (Shutterstock)

There’s something evocative about the full moon in winter. Combined with the leafless trees and bitter cold, that stark globe hanging in the crispy air can seem positively desolate. Pencil in Feb. 5 on your calendar of the year’s astronomical events and you can see for yourself, as that’s when the “Snow Moon” will rise above Earth to haunt us with its ghostly visage. It will be at its absolute brightest at 1:30 p.m., so you’ll have to wait until evening to see it rise above the Eastern horizon. Or check out the almost-full moon the night before if you feel up to braving the cold.

February’s full moon is a “micromoon”

Because the moon is at the far part of its orbit this time of year, it will appear slightly smaller and less bright than average. February’s moon is a “micromoon,” but size doesn’t matter to most people. The smallest micromoon appears only 14% smaller and less bright than the largest supermoon, a difference you’re unlikely to notice, especially if it’s a clear, cold night with some snow on the ground.

Why is February’s full moon called “Snow Moon?”

Most of the popular names for full moons are based on indigenous groups’ names for the months in which the moons appear. The name “Snow Moon” was first noted in the 1760s by Capt. Jonathan Carver.

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Carver was the first to document much about the people of the plains, including their name for February’s full moon, in his book Travels Through America 1766-1768. Years before Lewis and Clark were even born, Carver left his wife and children in Massachusetts to explore the then-unknown-to-Easterners regions west of the Great Lakes and search for the elusive Northwest Passage. When his travels were finished, Carver returned to England, married another woman, and died penniless, despite his historically priceless descriptions of the customs of pre-contact indigenous groups.

Other names for February’s full moon

Snow Moon isn’t actually that great of a name for February’s full moon, as January is actually the snowiest month in most of North America. I prefer the variants from other indigenous groups who dubbed February’s moon “Hunger Moon,” “Bony Moon,” and “Little Famine Moon.” A less bleak name for February’s full moon is “Trapper Moon,” a moniker bestowed upon it by fur trappers because beavers, minks, and foxes are at their furriest at the coldest part of the year.

Random lunar-fact: The moon is drifting away from us

Every year, the moon gets 1.49 inches further away from the Earth, probably because of something you did.

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