The Snow Moon rose on Feb. 12, 2025, marking the end of Chinese New Year and setting up both the beginning of Ramadan and a total lunar eclipse for North America.

The moon reached its peak brightness at 8:53 a.m. EST (1353 GMT) on Feb. 12, but local moonrise and moonset times will depend on your location. As the February full moon rises, Mars will remain high in the sky to the upper right of the moon, creating a delightful skywatching scene.

There will also be two total lunar eclipses that occur during the March and September full moon events. A lunar eclipse, which causes the moon to look dark or dimmed, occurs when Earth is between the sun and moon and the three celestial objects line up in a row so that the moon passes into our planet’s shadow.

The full “snow moon” was captured setting behind a church steeple in picturesque Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on February 12. The full moon in February has been dubbed the snow moon due to the heavy snowfall typically seen this time of year,