This weekend’s full moon is not just another bright disc in the sky. It is part of a rare celestial pattern that links the first days of 2026 to a lineup of supermoons and blue moons that will not repeat until well into the 2030s. The timing of this Snow Moon, arriving on the heels of an unusually close start to the year, turns an ordinary monthly spectacle into a preview of one of the decade’s most remarkable lunar runs.
Instead of a single one-night event, the Moon is effectively performing a months-long trick, combining an early supermoon, a crowded full-moon calendar and a coming blue moon into one tightly packed sequence. The result is a sky show that, according to astronomers and long-range lunar calendars, will not be matched again until at least 2037.
The rare alignment that kicked off 2026
The stage for this weekend’s full moon was set when 2026 opened with a tight configuration of Earth, the Moon and the Sun. Early in the year, Our small system of Earth, Sun and Moon lined up so that all three bodies were near their closest points to one another, a geometric coincidence that does not come along very often and that concentrated gravitational effects on our planet’s oceans and atmosphere. That rare alignment, described as a cool start-of-year pattern, meant the first full Moon rose while Earth itself was near its closest approach to the Sun, a combination that amplified the sense of a sky in motion and primed observers for what would follow in the lunar calendar Our.
That first full Moon was not just well timed, it was also a supermoon, appearing slightly larger and brighter because the Moon was near perigee, its closest point to Earth in orbit. A video explainer described how Dec and early January brought a cool cosmic coincidence, with Earth at its closest to the Sun at the same time the first supermoon of 2026 rose, turning the opening nights of the year into a kind of natural laboratory for how these cosmic forces shape our sky Earth. A Colorado forecaster went further, noting that THIS configuration HASN and HAPPENED in OVER 100 YEARS, describing the start of 2026 as a rare cosmic double feature that set expectations high for the rest of the year’s lunar events YEARS.
From Wolf supermoon to Snow Moon: how the year’s first full moons connect
The first full Moon of the year, often called The Wolf Moon, arrived as a supermoon and climbed higher in the sky than most other Moons, which made it especially prominent even in areas with light pollution. Astronomers pointed out that The Moon illusion, the tendency for the Moon to look larger near the horizon, combined with its actual supermoon status to make that Wolf Moon feel outsized to many casual observers, and its brightness remained visible even through city lights The Wolf Moon. That early spectacle helped draw attention to the fact that 2026 is not an ordinary lunar year, but one packed with 13 full Moons and several supermoons.
This weekend’s event is the next act in that sequence, the Full Snow Moon that rises at the start of February and carries a set of traditional names. For over a century, the first Full Moon of each month has been given popular labels, and this one is known as the Snow Moon, the Groundhog Moon and the Hunger Moon, reflecting seasonal hardships in northern climates Snow Moon. According to regional sky guides, the next full Moon is on Sunday, Feb 1, with peak illumination in the early evening, and viewers are advised to check local moonrise and moonset times to catch it as it clears the horizon for the most dramatic view Sunday.
Why 2026’s full-moon calendar is so unusual
What makes this weekend’s full Moon part of a once-in-a-decade trick is the way it fits into a crowded 2026 schedule. Lunar calendars show that the last full Moon was on 3 January 2026 and that the next full Moon is on 1 February 2026 at 10.09 pm in the United Kingdom, a pattern that quickly leads to 13 full Moons in a single calendar year rather than the usual 12 Moon. A separate guide to the next full Moon confirms that Jan and early February are only the beginning, with a full Moon appearing roughly every 29.5 days and a rare monthly blue Moon scheduled later in the year Moon.
That extra thirteenth full Moon is what sets up the unusual pattern that will not recur until the 2030s. One overview notes that Jan 2026 is the start of a year that will feature 13 full Moons, including a rare monthly blue Moon, with that extra event scheduled for May 31, 2026 Jan. Another calendar of full Moons in 2026 echoes that structure, noting that there will be a full Flower Moon on Friday, May 1, and that the Old Farmer’s Almanac definition of a blue Moon, the second full Moon in a single month, will be met when a second full Moon rises on May 31 Flower Moon.
Blue Moons, supermoons and why 2037 matters
The term blue Moon has more than one meaning, and both are relevant to why astronomers say this kind of pattern will not return until the 2030s. Most of us know Blue Moons as the second full Moon of a single calendar month, but there is also a seasonal definition in which a Blue Moon is the third of four full Moons in a single season, a configuration that produces its own kind of lunar twofer that will not be seen again until 2037 Most of. A separate explanation of what counts as a blue Moon notes that Normally these events occur about every two or three years, and that the last blue Moon took place on 19 August 2024, with the next one set for 31 May 2026, underscoring how the calendar quirks of 2026 are already bending the usual rhythm Normally.
When a blue Moon coincides with a supermoon, the effect is even rarer. One widely shared explanation pointed out that a supermoon is uncommon, and a blue Moon is even rarer, but when both happen at the same time the result is a sight that will not be seen again until 2037, thanks to the interplay of orbital cycles and some quirks of our calendar But. That is the long arc that this weekend’s full Moon belongs to: the Snow Moon is part of the same run of alignments that will culminate in a blue supermoon combination later in the decade, a pairing that will not repeat until 2037 and that makes the mid 2020s a particularly rich period for lunar watchers.
How to watch this weekend, and why it is worth stepping outside
For anyone planning to look up, the practical advice is straightforward. Regional forecasts for the next full Moon emphasize that the best view of the Snow Moon will come when it is low in the sky, shortly after moonrise or just before moonset, when foreground buildings and trees give a sense of scale and the atmosphere adds a warm tint to the light What. A full-year guide to upcoming full Moons, lunar eclipses and supermoons in 2026 encourages observers to mark their calendars now, since Jan and early February are only the beginning of a sequence that will include the Flower Moon, the blue Moon at the end of May and additional supermoons later in the year According.
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