February Full Snow Moon Is A ‘Micromoon’: When To See It In MA

MASSACHUSETTS — The last full moon of winter, the full snow moon on Saturday, is also a “micromoon,” though Massachusetts sky gazers may not notice the subtleties that make it different.

A micromoon is a full moon that occurs when the moon is farthest away from Earth, or at apogee. It appears about 14 percent smaller and 30 percent dimmer than usual.

It’s the opposite of the more commonly understood supermoon — that is, a full moon that appears slightly larger and brighter than usual as it makes its closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, called perigee, according to NASA. To see a supermoon, you’ll have to wait until the blue moon in August, the first of four consecutive supermoons.

On Saturday, the full snow micromoon rises at 5:41 p.m. in Massachusetts. It isn't set to reach it's highest point in the sky on Saturday, but the snow moon will appear full Friday and Sunday nights, too.

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The February full moon is often called the snow moon for obvious reasons, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which sites National Weather Service data showing February, on average, is the nation’s snowiest month.

Native Americans gave names to each month’s moon to keep track of the season, but some of the names also come from Colonial American and European cultures.

Other names given to the February moon are connected to animals, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The Cree traditionally called it the bald eagle or simply eagle moon, the Ojibwe called it the bear moon, the Tlinget called it the black bear moon, the Dakota called it the raccoon moon, certain Algonquin peoples called it the groundhog moon, and the Haida called it the goose moon.

For skywatchers planning their calendars, meteor showers resume until April. The Lyrids meteor shower runs his show runs from April 16-29, peaking overnight on April 22-23. A full moon at the peak could make this show a wash. The Lyrids produce about 18 meteors an hour at the peak, but they’re known for bright dust trails that last for several seconds.

The big event that month is the 2024 Great American Solar Eclipse. Something like 31 million U.S. residents live in places that will see daytime darkness, with only our yellow star’s spiky corona visible as the moon passes between it and Earth.

• Related: The 2024 Great American Solar Eclipse Is A Really Big Deal: Here’s Why

Another 1 million to 4 million people will make a pilgrimage to states in the path of totality — Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.