February full moon: Tonight’s Snow Micromoon will be smallest of 2023

Moonlovers in the southern hemisphere, rejoice! For once time is on our side. February’s full moon – known as the Snow Moon – will be at its brightest early Sunday evening.

Despite being a regular occurrence, each full moon is still unique in its own way, whether in appearance or ancient traditions borne from it, and all other scientific observations in between.

February’s full moon

A full moon happens when our celestial neighbour is exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun; that is, 100% of the moon’s face is illuminated by the Sun.

And tonight’s full moon will also be a micromoon.

Here’s what you need to know – from the origin of its name to when and how to view it.

Named after snow

Each full moon has its own name – or several names, in fact. We have Wolf Moon in January, Snow Moon in February, Worm Moon in March, and so on.

These names have been used for centuries. The names referenced in the Old Farmer’s Almanac^[1] have Native American, Colonial American and European influences.

However, in most instances, each moon is named after the changing of seasons, or other attributes associated with the Earth’s satellite at this time of the year.

February’s name speaks for itself: February was, on average, the snowiest time of the year in the northern hemisphere, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)._[2]

Snow Moon also goes by other names:

The Cree called it Bald Eagle Moon or Eagle Moon, while the Ojibwe tribe called it the Bear Moon (traditionally when bear cubs are born).

Snow Moon was also known as the Black Bear Moon to the Tlingit tribe, while the Dakota tribes called it Raccoon Moon, and Algonquin tribes call it Groundhog Moon.

Cherokee names include Month of Bony Moon, and Hungry Moon, signifying it was a particularly rough time of year.

ALSO READ: Royal Astronomical Society awards MeerKAT telescope team

Other tribes also refer to it as the Little Famine Moon, due to harsh weather making it tougher for hunters to find food.

And according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it’s also known as the “shoulder to shoulder around the fire moon”.

Micromoon explained

When the full moon coincides with an apogee (the point when the moon’s orbit is furthest from Earth) we get a micromoon.

Because the moon orbits Earth in an elliptical path, it means a part of the orbit is closer to Earth than the other.

The closest point is called a perigee (and that’s when we get a supermoon) while the farthest point in space is the apogee.

The average distance between the moon and the earth is approximately 383,000 kilometres. However, tonight it will be 405,830 kilometres from us.

When to see February’s Snow Moon

The Snow Moon will be at its fullest at 1:30pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) – that is the moment the full moon will reach its crest.

Fortunately for us, that is 8:28pm South African Standard Time (SAST), on Sunday, 5 February 2023.

You would need to look towards the Leo constellation. The moon would likely be between the star Regulus and Denebola, the two brightest stars in the constellation.

ALSO WATCH: NASA’s Orion capsule visited moon for the first time in 50 years yesterday

Viewing conditions

However, cloud conditions could obscure the full moon from our view.

You won’t need fancy equipment to see the full moon, but a pair of binoculars or even a small telescope would help.

As beautiful as they are frustrating, the brightness of a full moon could also oversaturate the surface of the moon, making it hard to see the lunar surface in detail (when viewed through a telescope).

The next full moon

March’s Worm Moon will appear on the nights of Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th March, and will reach its crest at 2:42pm on Tuesday._^[4]

Apart from the Worm Moon, it’s also known as the Sugar Moon, Wind Stron Moon and Crow Comes Back Moon.

In Christianity, March’s full moon is known as Lenten Moon if it is the last full Moon of the winter season, or as the Paschal Full Moon if it is the first Full Moon of spring.

Sources:

^{[1] Old Farmer’s Almanac
[2] Earth Sky
[3] NOAA
[4] Old Farmer’s Almanac}