February's full Snow Moon to take over the skies with Mercury, Venus and Mars in sight

The Moon has long been one of the central pieces of the studies related to Earth. Its presence influences various phenomena on the planet, such as tides. The full Moon is important for many due to religious, cultural reasons or even purely scientific reasons. The full Moon in itself is a spectacular sight to see that fills the heart with joy when you take a look at it. According to NASA, the Moon may appear to glow red sometimes. Other times, the Moon may appear larger than usual in our night sky. However, that is not because the Moon itself is changing colours or sizes. The changes in appearance are usually due to its position in relation to the Sun and Earth.

On February 5, the planet will witness this year’s first full Moon, which co-incidentally is also called the Snow Moon. The full Moon of February 5 will occur at 1:29 PM EST, in the US. According to the Maine Farmers' Almanac which began publishing Native Indian names for full Moons in the 1930s, February’s full Moon is called Snow Moon or Storm Moon because of the heavy snowfall during the season in various parts of the world.

But it's not just the Moon that will be the spectacle in the evening. According to NASA, Mercury, Venus and Mars will also be seen just before dawn. NASA says, “On the evening of the February full Moon, Venus as the Evening Star appears as the third brightest object in the sky, with only the Sun and Moon brighter.”

Why does a full Moon occur?

A full moon occurs when the side of the Moon facing Earth is fully lit up by the Sun. There are a few different types of unusual full moon types, which include blood moons, supermoons, blue moons, and harvest moons, and others.

The Snow Moon is one of the 12 full Moons of the year and it will reach its maximum elevation in the constellation Leo just after midnight.