THE rare Snow Moon will be visible tomorrow, Saturday 27 February 2021.

This stunning full moon is the last of the winter and celebrated across the world as the first in the Lunar New Year. 

Those hoping to see the second full moon of the year will have to wake up early on Saturday morning to catch it looking it's best.

Why is it called the snow moon? 

Traditionally, each full moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not just to the full moon itself.

The second full moon the year, the Snow Moon, is named so because of the heavy snowfall that usually occurs in February. 

Some Native Americans named this the Hunger Moon; others called it the Storm Moon.

When is best to see it? 

Ordinarily you would want to see the moon during moonrise just after it's before it reaches its brightest. 

At its brightest the moon will actually be too bright to look at and appear small in the sky.

However, the rare Snow Moon is a little more complicated than other full moons and you should aim to see it when the gap between sunrise and moonset is the shortest.

That way we can watch the full Snow Moon appear on the horizon while there’s still some light left. That’s the “wow” moment. 

The Snow Moon will reach its fullest size at 8.17am on February 28.

So if you want to see it, you'll have to set your alarm early, before moonset which is around 7:30am.

How often does a full moon occur?

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days and is when the Moon is completely illuminated by the Sun's rays. It occurs when the Earth is directly aligned between the Sun and the Moon. 

While most years see 12 full moons, some years have 13. This means that some months will see two full moons, with the second known as a Blue Moon.

When is the next full Moon?

The next full moon is the full Worm Moon which will occur on Sunday, March 28, 2021. It will be the first full Moon of spring 2021.