What is the full moon schedule for 2020?

The Full Moon in 2020: A Friendly Guide to Our Lunar Neighbor

Ever look up at the full moon and just feel… something? It’s a sight that’s captivated humans for ages, and 2020 gave us a whole baker’s dozen of them – that’s right, 13 full moons! What’s even cooler is that each one has its own nickname, often passed down from Native American traditions, that tells a little story about the time of year i. Think of them as nature’s way of marking the calendar.

So, what did the lunar lineup look like in 2020? Let’s take a stroll through the year, moon by moon:

• January 10: Full Wolf Moon. Picture this: mid-winter, wolves howling at the moon. That’s where this one gets its name i. It hit its peak in the early afternoon (2:21 p.m. EST, to be exact) i.
• February 9: Full Snow Moon. February can be a real snow globe sometimes, and this moon’s name is a nod to that i. The prime viewing was the night before, February 8, with the full moon officially arriving at 2:33 a.m. EST i.
• March 9: Full Worm Moon. Okay, “worm” might not sound super romantic, but this moon signals the start of spring when earthworms start wiggling their way back into the soil i. Plus, it was a supermoon! It peaked at 1:48 a.m. EDT i.
• April 7: Full Pink Moon. Don’t expect a Pepto-Bismol-colored moon! This one’s named after the pink wildflowers (like phlox) that pop up in spring i. Another supermoon, shining brightest at 10:35 p.m. EDT i.
• May 7: Full Flower Moon. May is bloom-tastic, and this moon celebrates all those blossoms i. Catching it on the night of May 6 would have been ideal, though it technically peaked at 6:45 a.m. EDT i.
• June 5: Full Strawberry Moon. Time for strawberry picking! This moon let us know it was time to harvest those sweet, red berries i. It was full at 3:12 p.m. EDT i.
• July 5: Full Buck Moon. This one’s for the deer – it marks the time when bucks start growing their new antlers i. The night of July 4th was the best time to see it, even though it peaked just after midnight at 12:44 a.m. EDT i. Bonus: it was also a penumbral lunar eclipse i!
• August 3: Full Sturgeon Moon. Back in the day, August was prime sturgeon-fishing time in the Great Lakes, hence the name i. It reached its peak at 11:59 a.m. EDT i.
• September 2: Full Corn Moon. Harvest time! This moon gave the signal to start gathering that corn i. The night of September 1 offered the best view, with the moon officially full at 1:22 a.m. EDT i.
• October 1: Full Harvest Moon. Speaking of harvests, this moon is the one that lands closest to the Autumn Equinox i. It shone brightest at 5:05 p.m. EDT i.
• October 31: Full Hunter’s Moon/Blue Moon. A double whammy! The Hunter’s Moon traditionally meant it was time to hunt for winter supplies i. And because it was the second full moon in October, it earned the “Blue Moon” title i. It peaked at 9:49 a.m. EDT i.
• November 30: Full Beaver Moon. Time to get those beaver traps ready before the water freezes over i! It was full at 4:30 a.m. EST i, and another penumbral lunar eclipse!
• December 29: Full Cold Moon. Brrr! This moon pretty much sums up December: cold and dark i. It peaked at 10:28 p.m. EST i.

So there you have it – a year of full moons, each with its own story. Looking up at the night sky and knowing these names connects us to the past and to the rhythms of nature. Pretty cool, right?