Stunning images have captured the ‘Snow Moon’ lighting up the night sky over the UK ahead of the spectacle appearing at its brightest tonight.
The second full moon of 2021 is not as bright as 2020’s Snow Moon, which was also a supermoon, but still makes for an illuminating sight across the UK.
Fascinating pictures show the huge moon sitting above the skyline in London, Bristol, Manchester, Lancashire and Cambridgeshire, and still shining brightly just before dawn.
The name ‘Snow Moon’ derives from Native American tribes and was given because February is the month for snowfall and colder temperatures.
The Snow Moon pictured dramatically sitting above The Shard in London just before dawn on Friday morning. The spectacle will reach its full size at 08:17 GMT tonight but will appear to be full through to early Sunday morning
The second full moon of 2021 setting over St Andrew’s Church in Sutton-in-the-Isle, Cambridgeshire, on Friday. The second full moon of 2021 is not as bright as 2020’s Snow Moon, but still makes for an illuminating sight across the UK
James Walsh erected this bike on the roof of his house in Bristol to replicate the famous scene in the Steven Spielberg movie where alien ET and his human friend Elliott fly above the treetops on a BMX spectacle
The full moon, also known in February as the ‘Snow Moon’, sets behind the Manchester skyline this morning. Astronomers advise photographers to download apps and maps to track the progress of the moon across the sky
To see as many of the surface details of the Moon as possible while out stargazing, viewers are recommended to give their eyes time to adjust to lower lights and turn off artificial lights sources.
February’s full moon is also known as the ‘Hunger moon’ due to the brutal weather conditions that made it harder for tribes to go out and hunt for food.
The names have been compiled by the Farmer’s Almanac, which first published a list of names for full moons inspired by Native American tribes in the 1930s.
It will reach its full size at 08:17 GMT tonight but will appear to be full through to early Sunday morning.
Astronomers advise photographers to download apps and maps to track the progress of the moon across the sky, in order to make sightings easier.
It should be possible to also view the planet Mars during the Snow Moon, depending on cloud cover. It appears on the west-southwestern horizon appearing as a bright dot in the sky near Orion’s Belt.
According to NASA no other planets will be visible to the naked eye until March, when Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible.
EarthSky says the bright star Regulus will be visible close to the Moon as it reaches its brightest and fullest point.
The ‘Snow Moon’, also known as the ‘Hunger Moon’ due to the brutal weather conditions that made it harder for tribes to go out and hunt for food, is seen rising above the River Thames and the skyscrapers of the City of London last night
The Snow Moon setting over Blackpool Tower in Lancashire on Friday morning. It should be possible to also view the planet Mars during the Snow Moon, depending on cloud cover
The Snow Moon seen through the London Eye. Other names for the February full moon include the Bear or the Black Bear Moon as it is when bear cubs tend to be born, or the Goose Moon
The Snow Moon rises behind Rivington Pike near Bolton, Greater Manchester, on Friday. According to NASA no other planets will be visible to the naked eye until March, when Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn should be visible
Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is about 79 light years away and is a quadruple star system split into two pairs of stars.
‘To the eye, the moon can look full for a few nights in succession. To astronomers, though, the full moon occurs in a single instant, when the moon is 180 degrees opposite the sun in ecliptic longitude,’ wrote EarthSky.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac says names for the full moons don’t always come from Native American tribes, they also come from colonial America, European sources and other traditions, which is why there are often more than one name for them.
Other names for the February full moon include the Bear or the Black Bear Moon as it is when bear cubs tend to be born, or the Goose Moon.
As well as freezing temperatures and birth, scarcity is another name for the moon, due to hunting becoming harder – some tribes called it the Month of the Bony Moon or Hungry Moon to highlight how hard food is to come by.
The Snow Moon seen rising above St Paul’s Cathedral in Central London (pictured left) and above the capital city’s skyscrapers (right) on Friday. ‘To the eye, the moon can look full for a few nights in succession’, wrote EarthSky
Crowds of people cluster around the St Michael’s Tower landmark on the summit of Glastonbury Tor on Friday evening to watch the sun set as the full Snow Moon rises in the East
The Snow Moon, also known as the ‘Hunger Moon’, rises above central London with birds seen in the foreground. Mars appears on the west-southwestern horizon appearing as a bright dot in the sky near Orion’s Belt
A Londoner photographs the Snow Moon through the London Eye on Friday. EarthSky says the bright star Regulus will be visible close to the Moon as it reaches its brightest and fullest point
The first full moon of the year is known as the Wolf Moon, as that is the time of year when villagers in ancient America would have heard the wolf howl.
The full moon in March is known as the Worm Moon as it is when Earthworms begin to appear due to rising temperatures – this year there will be a wolf supermoon.
A supermoon appears brighter and larger than the Moon on any other night and occurs as a regular part of the Moon’s orbit of the Earth.
The orbit isn’t an exact circle, so there are points where the the Moon is slightly closer to the Earth than at other times – when this occurs it is known as a supermoon.
A supermoon occurs when the full moon nearly coincides with perigee – the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the Earth.
This means it appears up to 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal, when viewed from Earth.
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