The full “snow moon” of February 2021 will be glowing in the night sky this weekend, officially reaching its fullest phase at 3:17 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27.
The moon will be 99% full Friday night, 100% full Saturday night and 98% full Sunday night, so sky watchers will have a few good opportunities to see it. And despite the melting that took place as temperatures warmed this week, a decent amount of snow remains on the ground in many parts of the northern United States — including northern and central New Jersey — to add a fitting backdrop to the “snow moon.”
In fact, February 2021 has been one of the snowiest Februaries on record in the northern half of the Garden State.
When to see the full moon
In the New York City region, the near-full February moon will rise in the east-northeast sky at 5:02 p.m. Friday, and the completely full moon will rise at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, also in the east-northeast sky, according to TimeAndDate.com.
On Sunday, the moon is scheduled to rise at 7:29 p.m. in the eastern sky.
The full February "snow moon" will be glowing in the sky this weekend. Pictured here is last month's so-called "wolf moon" as it was rising over mid-town Manhattan in New York City.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media
Nicknames for the full February moon
Every full moon has at least one catchy nickname, dating back to the days when Native American tribes and Colonial Americans would name each moon based on weather conditions, farming routines and hunting trends.
The February full moon is no exception. Although “snow moon” is its most common nickname — because February is typically a snowy month in North America — some Native American tribes called the February full moon the “hunger moon” or the “little famine moon” because the harsh weather made it tougher for hunters to find food.
Other nicknames include the “storm moon,” the “bone moon,” the “shoulder to shoulder around the fire moon” and the “no snow in the trails moon,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. “The bone moon meant that there was so little food that people gnawed on bones and ate bone marrow soup.”
The rival publication, the Farmers’ Almanac, says early American colonists also referred to the February full moon as the “trapper’s moon,” because “the optimal time for trapping beaver, fox and mink, was the dead of winter, when these animals’ coats were at their fullest.”
The full February "snow moon" will soon be rising in the sky. Pictured here is last month's so-called "wolf moon" as it rose over Atlantic City.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The next full moon of 2021
If you don’t catch a glimpse of this weekend’s full moon, you can look for next month’s full moon, which will be glowing on March 28. That moon is known as the “worm moon” — a nickname referring to the earthworms that typically emerge from the ground when winter turns to spring.
Note: If you are unable to view the chart above on your screen, click here to see it.
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
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