EYES TO THE SKIES FOR FEBRUARY’S FULL “SNOW” MOON! PLUS A MEETING OF THE MOON AND THE BRIGHT STAR REGULUS AND OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS! 🔭💙🌕✨ - 12/02/25
On the evening of the 12th of February into the morning of the 13th, we will hopefully be treated to views of a beautiful full moon, weather permitting of course.
Although the full Moon may not be the astronomers or astrophotographers best of friends (unless you are wanting to observe/photograph the Moon!), the full Moon always makes for a beautiful sight in the night sky and is an important marker of the seasons for many people.
If you would like more information on this February’s full “Snow” Moon, including what a full moon is, why it is known as the Snow moon, when and where to look to find the moon, plus other celestial treats to look out for, please read on…
WHAT IS A FULL MOON?
A full Moon occurs when its position in its orbit around Earth is at its furthest distance from the Sun (almost on the opposite side of the Earth compared to the Sun). When this happens, the side of the Moon that can be seen from Earth is completely illuminated, giving it the appearance of being full.
THE SNOW MOON
Often full Moon names derive their names from Native American traditions, which typically gave distinctions to the Moon based on the time of the year, the weathers relationship to crop harvests and the appearance of certain animals. The Native Americans would keep track of time by observing the seasons and Lunar months. These names were often passed down through the generations and these names were traditionally applied to refer to the entire lunar month.
February often marks a time when the harsh weather of winter hits at its hardest. Many of the names associated with this full moon are related to low temperatures, the most common name being 'The Snow Moon' as named by early Native American Tribes. So called because of the typically high rate of snowfall during this month, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. The Celtics have also historically referred to February’s full moon in a similar vein, however the Celts choose to name it ‘The Ice Moon’. It is also sometime referred to as the storm moon.
ALTERNATIVE FEBRUARY MOON NAMES
Some tribes such as the Cherokee tribes also traditionally referred to February’s full moon as the Hunger Moon, Little Famine Moon and Month of the Bony Moon because it was difficult to hunt under the harsh winter conditions, therefore food was hard to come by at this time, often leaving people gnawing on bones and eating bone marrow soup to get by.
Other names for this month’s full Moon have historically had a connection to animals. The Cree traditionally called this the Bald Eagle Moon or Eagle Moon. The Ojibwe Bear Moon and Tlingit Black Bear Moon refer to the time when bear cubs are born. The Dakota also calls this the Raccoon Moon, certain Algonquin peoples named it the Groundhog Moon, and the Haida named it Goose Moon and those in the Southern Hemisphere often refer to it as the Dog moon.
The full moon in February is also known as the Grain moon, Barley Moon, Candles Moon and Red Moon to those in the Southern Hemisphere.
WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE FULL MOON OCCUR?
This month the full Moon will reach max illumination (100% illuminated) during the daytime around 13:00 on the 12th of February. The Moon will rise on the afternoon of February the 12th at roughly 16:55 in the East-Northeast, it will then begin to climb higher in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest point in the sky at about 48 degrees high at around 00:39. The Moon will then begin to descend towards the West-Northwest where it will set at roughly 08:01 on the morning of the 13th of February.
Remember that you don’t really need to know the exact time of peak illumination to enjoy viewing the full Moon, the Moon will appear full all throughout the night and on the nights surrounding the peak.
WHERE IN THE SKY CAN THE MOON BE FOUND?
On the night of the 12th of February, our natural satellite can be found be hitching a ride in the zodiacal constellation of Leo the lion.
CONJUNCTION BETWEEN THE SNOW MOON AND THE BRIGHT STAR REGULUS
The night of February’s full “Snow” Moon will also host another celestial event.
Not long after the Moon reaches its highest point in the sky, the Moon will pay a very close visit to Regulus - the brightest star of the constellation Leo the lion.
Throughout the night of the 12th you will be able to observe the Moon travelling closer and closer to Regulus until at about 1:30am the Moon and Regulus will reach their closest approach to each other in our early morning skies. At this moment in time the two luminaries will appear separated by just over 1 degree.
LUNAR OBSERVATION
The great thing about observing the Moon is that we don’t have to go and find a particularly dark location to view it. As the Moon is such a bright object in the sky, we can watch it from wherever we are, even from the centre of a heavily light polluted city. Weather permitting of course.
MOON RISE/SET – MOON ILLUSION
It's always lovely to watch the moon rise/set, so if you can head out to witness the moon rise, please do. Every time the moon rises it takes on a beautiful golden, amber colour and appears larger at this time too, due to an optical illusion known as the ‘Moon illusion’. It's truly special to witness. As it rises and glides overhead it’s colour will transition into a bright white.
Sometimes the Moon can appear even more orangey red than usual too! The hue of the moon typically depends on atmospheric conditions wherever you’re viewing it from. Things like clouds, dust, haze, smoke or pollution can cause the moon to appear different colours by scattering much of the blue light shining on to our natural satellite, leaving it with a more reddish tone.
OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS
There are many other celestial treats in our night skies at this moment in time, here is a small selection of amazing night sky sights to look out for:
- All the beautiful winter constellations including the distinct constellation Orion plus the large asterism known as the “Winter Circle” can be seen towards the South in the early evening.
- The beautiful open star cluster the Pleaides (aka the Seven Sisters) can be found in the zodiacal constellation of Taurus the bull very close by to the bright planet Jupiter.
- The winter Milky Way in all its glory can be seen stretching all the way across the sky. The moonlight will make the Milky Way difficult to see whilst producing so much light, however it's certainly something to look out for at this time of year, especially when the moon is not brightening our skies.
- The amazing Andromeda Galaxy can be spotted to the eye as a small faint elliptical fuzzy in the constellation of Andromeda.
- We are still in the Aurora season and the Northern Lights may be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity. Typically, the bright Moon tends to wash the aurora out, however occasionally there are displays that are so strong they are visible despite the moonlight.
February is also a great time to spot the bright planets…
- The brilliantly bright planet Venus can currently be easily seen shining brightly at an impressive magnitude of -4.84 towards the Southwest in the early evening around and after sunset. Venus will become visible towards the Southwest just before the Sun sets at around 17:04, and will descend towards the West where it will set at around 21:20.
- The amazing ringed planet Saturn can be found in the constellation of Aquarius the water bearer very close by to Venus. Saturn will become visible as the skies become darker following sunset and will set in the west at around 19:20.
- The gas giant Jupiter will be visible in the constellation of Taurus and will become visible towards the Southeast shortly after Venus appears in the twilight sky. Jupiter will be easily visible all night long shining very brightly at magnitude -2.43. Jupiter will climb in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest in the sky about 57 degrees high at around 19:09. Jupiter will then begin to descend towards the North-West where it will set at around 03:27.
- From nightfall, the red planet Mars can be spotted in the constellation of Gemini the twins. Mars will appear towards the East not long after Jupiter can be seen. The red planet will climb in the sky travelling towards the South where it will reach its highest point in the sky about 61 degrees high at around 21:48. Mars will then begin to descend towards the Northwest where it will set in the morning twilight at roughly 06:46.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THE NIGHT SKY THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY?
If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen throughout February, please head to our YouTube channel to watch our Night Sky Guide video for February 2025.
https://youtu.be/5ySCtu-cb4E?si=iimuGtlq8rXnLzWs
CLOSING WORDS FROM ASTRO DOG
This month’s full Snow Moon will be a beautiful sight, and the lunar/stellar conjunction between the Moon and the bright star Regulus will make it an even more special occasion! So if you can, we recommend heading out to witness this February’s full Moon!
Clear skies 💖
#fullmoon #snowmoon #februaryfullmoon #moon #astronomy #saturn #jupiter #mars #venus #starclusters #pleiades #galaxies #andromeda #andromedagalaxy #stargazing #stars #planets #milkyway #astrodog #constellations #asterisms #nightskyguide #astrodognightskyguide