February full moon 2021: See the 'Snow Moon' with Mars this weekend

[Admin]

The full moon of February, called the Snow Moon, occurs Saturday, Feb. 27, 3:17 a.m. EST (0817 GMT).

February full moon 2021: See the 'Snow Moon' with Mars this weekend : Read more

 

[sam85geo]

The Snow Moon. It snowed at Lat 41.5 and Long 73.9 on Feb 26th night ,and is overcast for Feb 27th. Appropriate for the name and the season, but annoying. Mother Nature likes other locations better.

 

[rod]

"The full moon happens when the moon is exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun."

For those who observe the heavens, a celestial dance takes place between Earth, Moon, and Sun throughout the year, Full Moon is an example. The Sun’s angular diameter (arcminute and arcsecond size) changes throughout the year during perihelion and aphelion as the Earth orbits the Sun. "As the distance varies, the apparent size of the sun changes, the visible diameter ranging from 32'.6 in January to 31'.5 in July.", Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, Dutton, 1926, updated 1951 US Naval Academy, p. 237.

The Moon's angular size changes too as the Moon orbits Earth. Extreme apogee 406720 km, the Moon's arcminute ~ 29.37. Extreme perigee 356371 km, the Moon's arcminute ~ 33.53 arcminute size. Jean Meeus Astronomical Algorithms, p. 332, 1991. The Sun's arcminute size can vary ~ 1 arcminute while the Earth-Moon system orbits the Sun and the Moon's can vary ~ 4 arcminute between extreme perigee and apogee points in the Moon's orbit around Earth. This celestial dance can be observed and documented using quality telescopes too. So go Full Moon The changes I refer to here place constraints on the distance and size of the Moon from Earth, and the same for the Sun too.

 

[sam85geo]

My humble apologies and thanks to Mother Nature for she graciously and timely cleared the pesky overcast and ........ up came the Snow Moon radiating it's spectacular glory provided by perspective. A sight which is never mundane, and of which one never tires. (Unlike my interrupting neighbor, an example of failed Evolution, who intrudes with "Whatcha doing", "See anything good", "Oh it's just the Moon", and "Did ya see ..XXXX.. on TV last night")? Where Oh Where are random lightning strikes when one needs them?

 

[rod]

In post #3, the variation in angular size for the Sun, if similar to what we observe in the Moon's movement around Earth, climate change discussions would take on a whole new meaning The Moon's orbit is more eccentric around Earth than the Earth's orbit around the Sun. That is a good thing