The “Snow Moon” .. the last “small full moon” of the year decorating the earth’s sky this week
The second full moon of 2023 adorns the Earth's sky on Sunday evening, February 5, which has been widely known as the "Snow Moon".
And the full moon of February was called the snow moon, given that this month of the year is often the coldest in most countries in the northern hemisphere, a number of which witness snowfall.
The name goes back to some Native American tribes, who also called it the “hunger moon,” due to the scarcity of food sources and difficult hunting conditions during the middle of winter.
A full moon is the lunar phase when the moon appears fully lit from Earth's perspective. This happens every 29.5 days, which is how long it takes the moon to revolve around the earth and complete one cycle of the lunar phase.
When more than 98% of the moon's disk is illuminated, the snow moon will appear complete to the naked eye, starting from February 4, reaching its fullest on February 5, and continuing to appear complete until February 6.
The full moon of February will reach its peak fullness at 6:29 pm GMT on Sunday evening, February 5.
Full moons occur when the sun, earth and moon are aligned so that the sun's rays fully illuminate the earth-facing side of the moon.
The snow moon will be the second and last mini moon of the year. For observers, this means that the moon may appear a little smaller than usual, and this is due to its presence at the aphelion, the farthest point of the moon from Earth in its orbit.
This year will witness 13 full moons, with two full moons in August, a phenomenon that occurs every 2.8 years.
Source: websites