Don’t Miss The Full Snow Moon This Weekend

If you were out last night or early this morning, you probably saw that the sky was illuminated by the full moon.

Luckily, it was a clear night Thursday into Friday morning and you got to experience the Snow Moon or Hunger Moon.

The Snow Moon will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere until this Sunday, February 28th and will reach peak brightness Saturday morning at 3:19 am, according to the National Weather Service.

Because I'm not a NASA scientist, Astronomer, or Astrologer, I'll let EarthSky.org explain what you saw Thursday night and what to expect in the Hudson Valley sky this weekend:

As dusk turns into darkness on Friday evening, February 26, you might see a bright star pop out rather close to the moon. That’ll be Regulus – aka Cor Leonis or the Lion’s Heart – in the constellation Leo. By February 27, the moon will have moved on in its orbit, shifting continually eastward in front of the stars. It’ll still be in Leo, though, and bright Regulus will still be nearby.

The main thing they want us to now about this Full Snow Moon is that it's a reminder that warmer days are on the way. EarthSky.Org writes  "For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the path of the Snow Moon across our sky is a welcome reminder of the longer summer days to come."

Have you been having trouble sleeping this week? The Full Snow Moon might be to blame.

The Philidelphia Inquirer reports that a new study from University of Washington researchers shows "that on the nights preceding the full moon, the study subjects slept from 46 to 58 minutes less than they did during the earlier and later lunar cycles."

You might be out of luck when it comes to viewing the Snow Moon the rest of the weekend. HudsonValleyWeather.com is reporting clouds, rain and snow throughout the weekend.