February's Snow Moon will be unusually small 'micromoon'
The final full moon of winter will also be one of the smallest of the entire year, rising on Saturday night and appearing as much as 30% dimmer than a supermoon.
The full moon rising during the last weekend of February will appear smaller and dimmer than usual. This moon will be called the Micro Snow Moon; find out why it’s being named that.
The final weekend of February will coincide with a full moon, one that will be different than many others that rise throughout the year.
Saturday night's full moon will be a "micromoon," meaning that it will appear slightly smaller in the sky and won't shine quite as brightly as other full moons throughout the year. This is the counterpart to the supermoon, which has evolved into a viral sensation in recent years. A micromoon can be 14% smaller and 30% dimmer than a supermoon.
Snow moon rises behind Corno Grande and Pizzo Cefalone peaks (Gran Sasso dItalia National Park) in LAquila, Abruzzo (Italy), on February 5, 2023. February full moon is usually called a snow moon. (Photo by Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The appearance of the moon's size is related to its orbit around the Earth, which is not a perfect circle. There are points in its orbit when it is farther away from the planet, making it look slightly smaller, and times when it is closer, causing it to appear a bit larger.
It is nearly impossible for the human eye to detect the change in size, but it is more noticeable in a side-by-side comparison.
How the moon appears when it is at perigee, its closest point to the Earth, and when it is at apogee, its farthest point from the Earth. (AccuWeather)
February's full moon also goes by several nicknames, many of which relate to the month's typical weather in North America.
Snow Moon is the most common nickname, as February is often one of the snowiest months in North America. Other nicknames include the Hungry Moon, Raccoon Moon, Bald Eagle Moon and the Black Bear Moon.
This weekend's full moon will be the final full moon of winter, as the next one will not rise until after the March equinox, on March 19, which will signal the arrival of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
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