This weekend, keep an eye out for February’s full moon in the night sky, which will be visible from all across the world.
According to NASA, the moon will seem full from early Saturday morning through early Tuesday morning, reaching peak brightness at 1:29 p.m. ET Sunday.
According to EarthSky, the full moon is referred described as a micromoon because, as a result of its current distant orbit around Earth, it seems a little bit smaller than usual in our sky. The full moon in January was a micromoon as well.
Even though the moon is 252,171 miles (405,830 kilometers) distant, it will still be incredibly brilliant.
Since February is a month when more snow falls in North America, the Old Farmer’s Almanac refers to it as the “snow moon.” According to a manual created at Western Washington University, the Arapaho tribe’s word for the full moon in February means “snow gleaming in the sun.”
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Other Native American tribes have different names for the full moon in February that have wintry sounds. A green comet, visible in the night sky for the first time since the Stone Age, makes its closest approach to Earth. The Lakota refer to it as cannapopa wi, which means “when trees split due to cold,” while the Comanche refer to it as sleet moon. The Kalapuya tribe gave the moon the name atchiulartadsh, which means “out of food,” because the month was also linked to hunger and a lack of food sources.
Due to Candlemas on February 2 or the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, Europeans have referred to the full moon in February as the Candles moon. The moon also coincides with the conclusion of the Lantern Festival, which marks the Lunar New Year.
On the Hebrew calendar’s Tu BiShvat, also known as the “New Year of the Trees,” which is observed by planting trees and promoting ecological consciousness, the full moon occurs in the middle of the month of Shevat.
Here are the remaining notable sky events for 2023, so get your telescope and binoculars ready.
Full and supermoon moons
There are typically 12 full moons per year, one for each month. However, there will be 13 full moons in 2023, including two in August.
According to NASA, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month, hence the expression “once in a blue moon.” Full moons typically occur every 29 days. Although the majority of the months on our calendar are 30 or 31 days long, the moon’s phases and the months don’t always coincide, therefore a blue moon occurs every 2 12 years on average.
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According to EarthSky, the two full moons in August can also be regarded as supermoons. Supermoons are defined differently, but in general, they are full moons that are brighter and closer to Earth than usual, giving them a bigger appearance in the night sky.
According to some scientists, the phenomena happens when the moon is 90% of its perigee, or closest point in orbit to Earth. According to EarthSky, the full moon in July will likewise be regarded as a supermoon event under that definition.
The Farmer’s Almanac has listed the remaining full moons for 2023 as follows:
Worm moon on March 7
Pink moon on April 6
Flower moon on May 5
Strawberry moon on June 3
3.07. Buck moon
Sturgeon moon on August 1
30th August: Blue moon
29th of September: Harvest moon
28th of October: Hunter’s moon
Beaver moon on November 27.
26th of December: Cold moon
These are the names given to the monthly full moons that have gained popularity, although among Native American tribes, each one has a unique meaning (with many also referred to by differing names).
storms of meteors
The peak times of the meteor showers to view in 2023 should be noted on your calendar:
22–23 April, Lyrids
Eta May 5–6, Aquariids
July 30-31 for Southern Delta Aquariids
July 30-31 for Alpha Capricornids
12–13th of August: Perseids
Orionids: 20–21 October
November 4–5, Taurids of the South
Northern Taurids: 11–12 November
17–18 November: Leonids
Geminids: 13–14 December
21–22 December, Ursids
If you reside in a city, you might want to take a drive to a region with fewer glaring city lights to see the showers. Depending on where you are in the world, meteors may be visible every few minutes from late at night till morning if you can find a place where light pollution isn’t an issue.
Find a space that is open and has a good view of the sky. So that you can gaze directly upward, make sure you have a chair or blanket. Allow your eyes to acclimatize to the darkness for 20 to 30 minutes without looking at your phone so that you can see the meteors more easily.
eclipses of the sun and moon
In 2023, there will be two solar eclipses as well as two lunar eclipses.
On April 20, there will be a total solar eclipse that can be seen from Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Antarctica. When the moon passes between the sun and Earth and obscures the sun, this type of event takes place.
Additionally, it will be a hybrid solar eclipse for some sky watchers in Indonesia, some regions of Australia, and Papua New Guinea. According to NASA, as the moon’s shadow advances across the planet, some eclipses may change from total to annular due to the curvature of the Earth’s surface.
An annular eclipse happens when the moon is at or near its furthest point from Earth, unlike a total solar eclipse, which takes place when the moon is directly in front of the sun. Because of this, the moon doesn’t totally block out our star and instead casts a luminous ring around it. It also makes the moon appear smaller than the sun.
On October 14, an annular solar eclipse will span the Western Hemisphere and be visible in the Americas.
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To safely witness solar eclipses, make sure to put on the appropriate eclipse glasses because the sun’s light can harm the eyes.
A lunar eclipse, meanwhile, can only happen during a full moon when the sun, Earth, and moon are all lined up and the moon enters Earth’s shadow. When this happens, Earth causes the moon to receive two shadows during the eclipse. The entire, dark shadow is known as the umbra, whereas the outside, partial shade is known as the penumbra.
The full moon will darken when it passes under Earth’s shadow, but it won’t completely vanish. Instead, sunlight that enters Earth’s atmosphere dramatically illuminates the moon, turning it crimson. For this reason, the phenomenon is frequently referred to as a “blood moon.”
It could be a brick-colored red or rusty red depending on the local weather. Red light will be the most prominent color highlighted as sunlight passes through the atmosphere and casts it on the moon because blue light experiences more atmospheric dispersion.
On May 15, a total lunar eclipse can be seen in the skies over Canta, Peru, revealing a “blood moon.”
On May 15, a total lunar eclipse can be seen in the skies over Canta, Peru, revealing a “blood moon.”
Getty Images/Ernesto Benavides
May 5 will see a penumbral moon eclipse for those in Africa, Asia, and Australia. The moon passes through the penumbra, or the light, outer region of Earth’s shadow, to experience this less dramatic type of lunar eclipse.
The hunter’s moon will experience a partial lunar eclipse on October 28 that will be visible in areas of Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, and much of South America. When the sun, Earth, and moon are not perfectly aligned, partial eclipses take place where only a portion of the moon is cast in shadow.