First 'Snow Supermoon of 2020' to illuminate the sky this weekend

The first supermoon of the year 2020 will be visible in the sky from February 7 to the morning of February 10, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 'Snow supermoon' is a term used to describe a full moon that appears when the Moon's orbit is closest to Earth. According to reports, if the supermoon appears in February, it is traditionally known by many names, including Snow Moon, Storm Moon, and Magha Purnima. 

This month's moon will reportedly be the biggest moons of 2020 and will look especially large when rising and setting. According to NASA, the Moon will appear full for nearly three days starting Friday evening, and will be completely full on Sunday at 2:33am EST after which the supermoon will appear in the sky. Further, the data provided by a Norwegian site indicates that the Full Moon phase will occur at 1:30pm IST which means that the first supermoon of 2020 will only appear partially for stargazers in India sometime in the evening. 

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First full moon of Chinese New Year

NASA has further said that supermoon is not an official astronomical term and there is no definition about how close to perigee the full moon has to be in order to be called 'super'. They further added that generally, the supermoon is used to refer to a full moon 90 per cent or closer to perigee. According to reports, this is also the first full moon of the Chinese New Year, which signifies the end of its New Year celebrations and Chinese Lantern Festival. 

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The full moon also coincides with an important Buddhist festival, Magha Puja which is on Sunday. This festival commemorates a spontaneous gathering of approximately 1,250 of the Buddha's followers to hear 'The Ovadhapatimokha', a famous sermon by the Buddha. 

A supermoon happens when the moon orbits Earth and it goes through phases that are determined by its position relative to Earth and the Sun. According to NASA, when the moon lines up on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun, then the full moon appears. The new moon phase also occurs when the Moon and the Sun are lined up on the same side of Earth. 

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