The second full moon of the year will light up the sky on the 16th
Although February is not one of the months with the greatest astronomical activity, there are phenomena in the sky that do not disappoint observers and lovers of the planets, comets and eclipses. The so-called ‘month of love’ for the celebration of Valentine’s Day has already begun with the luminous spectacle of the Alpha Centaurid meteor shower on February 8, which they could enjoy in South America.
Now, in the middle of the month, the Snow Moon arrives, whose importance lies above all in the origin of its name. This is the name given to the second full moon of the year, which in 2022 can be seen on February 16. It was the Native Americans who gave this name to the full moon in February, because over time they associated this phenomenon with the arrival of some of the most intense winter storms. In other places around the world, there are other terms for the February full moon, such as Wolf Moon, Hungry Moon, Groundhog Moon, or Bear Moon.
The maximum point of the Snow Moon will be at 4:56 p.m., but it will have better visibility during the sunset and the night of February 16. At that time, the Moon will be 380,000 kilometers from Earth and will travel the celestial vault in the constellation of Leo, to hide in the west after sunrise, as explained by National Geographic.
Other astronomical phenomena in February
The astronomical activity of the month does not end here. Among other phenomena, this February 12 you will be able to see Venus, Mars and Mercury forming a triangle at dawn. During the early morning, the three planets will appear to move together, with Venus being the brightest star. It will begin its southeasterly ascent at about 4:42 a.m., followed by the appearance of Mars twenty minutes later. Mercury, the last, will close the triangle an hour later with a faint pre-dawn glow.
February will end with an eclipse on the 26th, only available to a few lucky ones. A ‘ring of fire’ or annular solar eclipse will be seen in a narrow band of the Southern Hemisphere. It is a “shocking event, which occurs when the moon’s disk is too full to completely cover the sun, so we see a ring of sunlight around the dark lunar silhouette,” explains National Geographic. It will start in Chile, passing through the Argentine Patagonia, to go to Angola and then to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it will end at sunset.