Monday Meme: Its Groundhog Day!

"Babe (duh duh, duh duh, duh duh, duh duh) I got you, babe...."
Now its going to be stuck in your head all day long! Happy Groundhog Day, Y'all!

Night Sky Photography -- 02-01-2026 -- The Full Snow Moon After The Snowstorm

Good evening fellow stargazers!

Tonight, I captured some outstanding photos of February's full moon in the evening sky, along with a beautiful show of Jupiter and the bright star, Sirius, rising in the eastern sky between the recently snow-covered trees.

The February full moon is known as the Full Snow Moon here in North America -- a beautiful irony since it's a day following the bomb cyclone that hit the Carolinas; ushering in more snowfall that we usually see in these parts, even in the winter!

The first shot shows Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, with the bright twin stars, Castor and Pollux, close by. A close-up of Jupiter shows three of its four largest moons: Callisto, Ganymede, and Io. Europa, the fourth moon, was currently behind Jupiter in its rotation. Sirius, the Dog Star, is nearby further to the southeast clearly visible through the bare trees (a few of which still have snow on them).

The Full Snow Moon is hidden behind the trees for another hour before finally appearing in all her glory. The final shot is the close-up of our lovely full Luna.

A fun fact: because the month of February only has 28 days and the full moon on average only happens once every 29-30 days, there are years where there is no full moon in February! This only happens about once every 19 years, give or take. The last time that happened was in 2018. The next time February won’t have a full moon will be in 2037.