2 moon phases you won't want to miss this February

us space and rocket center moon — Where will you watch the upcoming phases from? (Christian Stanfield / Hville Blast)

The sky doesn’t have a lot in store this month, but there are two remarkable moon phases to look forward to. Keep reading to learn more about what you should keep an eye out for this February.

New Moon — Friday, Feb. 9

black and white crescent moon — Look up this Friday for a dazzling night sky. (Photo by Lenstravelier on Unsplash)

Starting at 5PM on February 9, the Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun, so it will not be visible in the night sky. Get your telescopes ready, as this is going to be the perfect time to view faint objects in the sky you wouldn’t be able to see on other nights.

Snow Moon — Saturday, Feb. 24

cold moon full moon — Keep an eye out for the bright night coming up. (“Full Cold Moon 2018” by Thomas Cizauskas is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

At approximately 6:32AM on February 24, the Moon will be fully illuminated, as it will be positioned on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. This phase was commonly known as the Snow Moon by early Native American tribes due to the frequently heavy snowfall at this time of year.

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