One of the biggest full moons of the year is expected this weekend, as the Moon approaches the closest point on Earth in its orbit. But there is no official definition for Supermoon.
Snowmoon is simply the name for the full moon that occurs in February. This particular snow moon will hang in the sky from Friday night to Monday morning.
Across North America and Europe, people have used the full moon to track months and seasons over millennia, naming each one based on the seasonal variation it points to.
The names given to the full moon are often attributed to native Algonquian peoples who share a common family of languages and come from an area that today stretches from New England to Lake Superior's westernmost.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, colonial settlers across North America adopted their own version of indigenous names.
Different languages and cultures have characterized the moon in different ways, sometimes based on agricultural cycles, sometimes on natural phenomena.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) does not officially define a Supermoon.
