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Snow Moon Peaks Sunday at 5:09 p.m. EST, With Rare Regulus Occultation to Follow

The near-full moon will pass in front of Regulus for parts of North America the next night, ahead of a total lunar eclipse on March 3.

Overview

  • Observers are advised to watch the eastern horizon around local sunset on Feb. 1 for the most dramatic moonrise and to seek darker locations to reduce light pollution.
  • The full moon will sit in Leo near the Beehive Cluster, which is best glimpsed with binoculars once the moon has cleared the horizon.
  • A predicted occultation of Regulus occurs on Feb. 2 for parts of North America, with city-specific disappearance and reappearance times around the late evening (for example, approximately 8:51–9:54 p.m. EST in New York City).
  • February 2026 features only one full moon because the month is shorter than the roughly 29.5-day lunar cycle, so there is no February blue moon.
  • The lunar calendar around the Snow Moon includes an annular solar eclipse on Feb. 17 visible only from Antarctica and a March 3 Worm Moon that coincides with a roughly 58-minute total lunar eclipse.