Tonight's Moon 2021; share your photos here

That photo of the moon Jim looks 3D, very speherical.

The next full moon for the UK will be 27 February around 08:17am.

The moon in the UK can be clearly visible from around 16:00 onward

February: Snow Moon

The February Full Moon is named after the snow on the ground. Some Native American tribes named this the Hunger Moon; others called it the Storm Moon.

In ancient times, it was common to track the changing seasons by following the lunar month rather than the solar year, which the 12 months in our modern calendar are based on.

For millennia, people across Europe, as well as Native American tribes, named the months after features they associated with the Northern Hemisphere seasons, and many of these names are very similar or identical.

When are the Full Moons this year?

Full Moon Names

Today, we use many of these ancient month names as Full Moon names. A common explanation is that Colonial Americans adopted many of the Native American names and incorporated them into the modern calendar.

However, it seems that it is a combination of Native American, Anglo-Saxon, and Germanic month names which gave birth to the names commonly used for the Full Moon today.

The Snow Moon is the Full Moon in February, named after the snow on the ground. Some North American tribes named it the Hunger Moon due to the scarce food sources and hard hunting conditions during mid-winter, while others named it the Storm Moon. Some sources also call it Chaste Moon, although most attribute this name to March Full Moon.

About once every 19 years, February does not have a Full Moon, known as a Black Moon. In 2018, this was the case in most time zones. Instead, January and March have two Full Moons each, creating a double Blue Moon.

For those with new cameras, or have rediscovered photography, the following are a few tips on helping you to get a photo of the moon.

Taking Pictures of the Moon

The Moon is beautiful to the naked eye, but it can be tricky to capture with a camera.

Full Moon photos need planning.

Planning Your Moon Picture

Whether you have a smartphone or a more advanced camera, planning is the key to a successful shot.

• Find the moonrise and moonset times. If you use a compass to angle your camera, make sure to take into account magnetic declination.
• Moonrise and moonset are great times for spectacular Moon photos. The Moon is just above the horizon, so you can add mountains, buildings, or other surroundings to your picture. Around the Full Moon, the Moon usually rises and sets during the golden hour, when colours are particularly rich.
• Check the weather! A cloudy sky may cover the Moon, though a few clouds add drama.
• The Full Moon is very bright, especially if it is a Supermoon. Other Moon phases may be simpler to shoot.
• Scout your location. Lakes, the ocean, windows, and buildings reflect light and add extra oomph to your picture.

Using a Smartphone or Compact Camera

Smartphones and small compact cameras have a wide lens and a small sensor, so the Moon might come out looking like a blurry dot of light in the sky. Most mobile cameras also don't have a very powerful zoom, which you need to capture the surface details of the Moon. However, there are ways you can play to the strengths of your cell phone:

• Compose your image. Make use of the scenery around you by including trees, buildings, or reflections.
• Turn off the flash. The flash will disturb the natural light.
• Use ambient light. Capture different light sources. For example, during the blue hour, light from buildings give a warm glow complementing the moonlight.

DSLR Cameras

In order to make the Moon the focal point of the image and to capture the surface details, you'll need a DSLR or another camera with a zoom equivalent of 200 mm or above.

Zoom in to capture surface details.

• Put your camera on a tripod or another stable surface like a fence or the ground. Use your timer, a shutter with a cord, or a remote to minimize camera movement.
• Use a low ISO. Keep your ISO setting between 100 to 200 as the Full Moon is bright.
• Shutter priority 1/500th second  often yields good results
• Manual exposure. Underexpose rather than overexpose the Moon. A medium aperture of f/5.6 to 11 works well.
• Flash highlights. A flash can be used to light up your subject. Set the exposure for the Moon and sky.
• High resolution. To capture as much information and detail as possible, set your camera to the highest resolution (jpeg) or take uncompressed images (tiff or raw).
• Keep shooting! Play around with different apertures and shutter speeds, and you might just get that perfect shot.
• Edit your images. You can also crop, add contrast, tweak colours, layer, and so much more, by processing your images using photo processing software.

Not quite the snow moon, I wanted to capture one with a blue sky rather than black, which would have happened if I'd opted for the nearest time to the full moon, which would have been around 06:30 here.

Too many twigs in the way but had a lovely colour

Taken last night at 9.30

Linda257 said:

Too many twigs in the way but had a lovely colour

I think the twigs enhance the images nicely.

We've missed the March full moon, also known as the Worm Moon

https://www.timeanddate.com/

I slipped up yesterday, should have added the following!

The day started as it went on, virtually clear skies, and a morning moon, timed at 06:44 BST, 30 March 2012, in the western sky