February’s Snow Moon, the second full moon of 2026, will rise with one of the most beautiful open star clusters in the night sky on Sunday (February 1).
The moon will officially be full on February 1st at 5:09pm EST, and will be best visible in your location during moonrise at dusk. It is located in the constellation Leo, hanging below the Honeycomb star cluster. On February 2nd, the moon will be bright and appear full.
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The Honeycomb star cluster can be found midway between the bright stars Pollux in the constellation Gemini (upper right of the moon) and Regulus in the constellation Leo (lower left of the moon). Regulus, like the other stars in the constellation Leo, is best visible about an hour after the moon rises.
If you look up on February 2nd, you’ll be able to watch for about an hour as Regulus disappears behind the near-full moon, as seen from parts of North America. This rare phenomenon will not repeat itself until the late 2030s.
According to NASA, February’s full moon is also known as the “hungry moon,” “storm moon,” and “candle moon.” According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, other names for February’s full moon include Bald Eagle Moon or Eagle Moon (Cree), Bear Moon (Ojibwe), Black Bear Moon (Tlingit), Raccoon Moon (Dakota), Groundhog Moon (Algonquian), and Goose Moon (Haida).
Next, a new moon will occur on Tuesday, February 17th, creating a rare annular solar eclipse (often called the “Ring of Fire” because only the center of the Sun’s visible surface is blocked by the Moon), which can only be seen in the South Pole.
The next full moon, the Worm Moon, will rise on March 3rd. This will be a special full moon as it will be a total lunar eclipse. During this spectacular event, colloquially known as a “blood moon,” the moon’s surface turns a coppery red color for 58 minutes, as seen from North America, the Pacific Ocean, Australia, and East Asia.
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