WunderPhotos®

the February full moon can assume any number of different names. It was called the Snow-blinding Moon by the Micmac people in eastern Canada, the Wind Moon to the San Ildefonso of the Southwest, the Blackbear Moon to the Kutenai of the Northwest..also the Sap Moon, Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Worm Moon. Every full moon stands opposite – or nearly opposite – the sun. Any time you see the moon near the horizon, it might have an orange or reddish color. The reason is Earth’s own atmosphere. The moon’s (or sun’s) light must pass through a greater thickness of atmosphere when rising or setting (that is, when it is near the horizon) than when overhead. Since the atmosphere scatters the bluish component of light, while allowing the redder light to travel straight through to our eyes, objects often appear redder than normal when near the horizon. So any moon, full or not, may look reddish when seen near the horizon. Tonight's moon was quite high in the sky(9PM)..but had this brilliant ring around it..stunning! It's also an indicator of an impending storm..