Night sky calendar

Supermoons, blood moons & beyond: The many faces of our natural satellite

Image: Anderson Rian

The moon isn’t just a pretty light in the night sky. Depending on when it appears, it has different names based on history, farming, and folklore. You probably know about the blue moon, but did you know there’s a "strawberry moon" and even a "wolf moon"? Let’s explore where these names come from and the stories behind them.

Image: David Dibert

January’s full moon is known as the Wolf Moon, and if that sounds like something straight out of a spooky winter night, you’re not far off. The name comes from old European and Native American traditions, where people noticed that wolves tended to howl more during the cold, food-scarce months. While we now know that wolves don’t actually howl at the moon (stop it, Hollywood), the name stuck.

Image: Kym MacKinnon

We know you’ve shoveled a driveway in February, so you understand why this full moon is called the Snow Moon. This chilly month often brings heavy snowfall across North America, earning the moon its frosty name.

Native American tribes and early settlers also called it the Storm Moon or the Hunger Moon, as food was often scarce in the dead of winter. The good news is that even though we don’t face the same hardships today, the Snow Moon signals that winter is coming to an end!

Image: Alexandra Vo

You’ve probably heard the phrase "once in a blue moon," meaning something that happens rarely. Well, a Blue Moon isn’t actually blue (sorry to disappoint), but it is quite unusual.

The term dates back to the 16th century and has evolved over time, though its idiomatic meaning became widely popular in the 1940s. As for the event itself, it occurs when a single month has two full moons—something that happens only every two to three years.

Image: uomo libero

This full moon occurs in June, and even though it’s called the Strawberry Moon, don’t expect it to turn pink or red.

This moon gets its name from the Algonquin tribes, who saw it as a signal to harvest ripening strawberries. In Europe, it’s sometimes called the Rose Moon or the Honey Moon—just like the one you take when you get married! Either way, this moon marks the start of summer, long days, and warm nights. If you ask us, that’s a true honeymoon!

Image: Clay Banks

In the past, farmers didn’t have tractor headlights, as you can imagine, so they relied on the Harvest Moon to work late into the night.

This full moon is the one closest to the September equinox, rising shortly after sunset for several nights in a row. This provided extra light for those gathering their summer crops. The name has been around for centuries and is still used today to mark the start of autumn.

Image: The frolicsome Fairy

Following the Harvest Moon comes the Hunter’s Moon, the first full moon after the fall equinox.

This was the time when hunters took advantage of the bright night skies to track game and stock up on meat for winter. Like the Harvest Moon, it rises early and stays bright, making nighttime hunting easier. With both harvesting and hunting, the moon proved to be quite useful, huh?

Image: zhang kaiyv

The Beaver Moon in November marks a time when beavers get serious about winter preparations (you didn’t think people were the only ones getting ready, did you?). Around this time, they begin building lodges and stocking food before the ponds freeze over.

Some say early settlers and Native American tribes named it this because it was also the best time to set beaver traps for warm fur. Nowadays? Well, that full moon in November is your cue to stock up on blankets for the couch!

Image: Luca

If winter ever feels like it lasts forever, you can blame it on the Long Night Moon. This full moon, the one closest to the winter solstice, appears when the nights are longest and the sun is at its weakest.

In Europe, it’s also called the Moon Before Yule, tying it to old winter solstice celebrations. Since this moon sits higher in the sky and lingers longer, it truly lives up to its name—even if we don’t like it one bit!

Image: Alexis Antonio

A Blood Moon isn’t just a cool name (we say cool—you might say creepy); it’s a real celestial event! Luckily, it has no direct relation to blood—just the color.

This happens during a total lunar eclipse when the Earth blocks direct sunlight from reaching the moon. Instead, the only light that reaches the moon is filtered through Earth’s atmosphere, giving it a reddish glow. The more dust or pollution in the air, the redder it looks. Pretty fascinating, don’t you think?

Image: Jonathan Wheeler

Ever notice that some full moons seem bigger and brighter than others? That’s a Supermoon! Yes, that is indeed a thing, and it happens when the full moon coincides with its closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it look a bit larger and a lot brighter.

The term was first used by astrologers in the 1970s but has since become a popular way to describe these extra-dazzling moons.

A bulldozer is not a bull

"Is it a pine? Is it an apple? No, it’s a pineapple!" Compound words 101

Image: Glen Carrie

Compound words are everywhere in English, but sometimes their meanings take a weird turn. You’d think an eggplant might have something to do with eggs, or that quicksand would help you move quickly, but that is not the case. Have you ever thought about these 12 words and their meanings?

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A hangover is a severe headache combined with other after-effects caused by drinking an excess of alcohol. It has nothing to do with "hanging" or being "over" anything, in any possible way.

Image: Nic Y-C

Possibly due to cartoons and action movies, quicksand is a concept that is much more prevalent during childhood than during our adult lives. We do know, however, that while it does involve "sand," it is nothing but "quick."

Image: Deon Black

The compound word is formed by "egg" and "plant," but whoever saw a resemblance between the vegetable known as eggplant and an actual egg had a vast imagination.

Image: Joel Muniz

A boxing ring is a space where a boxing match occurs. This space is most usually not a ring, but a square, with fighters using a corner as their home base.

Image: GABRIEL CARVALHO

The term "backlog" specifically refers to work or tasks that have accumulated and are awaiting completion, often due to being postponed.

The words "back" and "log" individually do not represent what an actual backlog is in any way.

Image: Sasha Kaunas

The words "sky" and "scrape" on their own don't convey the meaning of a tall building. But when combined as "skyscraper," they describe a structure so tall it seems to touch or scrape the sky.

A skyscraper refers to a very tall building, typically one that stands out in the skyline due to its impressive height.

Image: Fernando Gago

The words "honey" and "moon" have separate meanings, but together they form "honeymoon," which refers to a special time of romantic bliss.

A honeymoon typically refers to the early weeks of marriage, often spent in a relaxing or celebratory getaway to mark the start of a new chapter.

Image: Melanimarfeld

An earwig is a small insect with two curved, pointed parts at the back end of its body, known as pincers.

However, the words "ear" and "wig," as two separate entities, do not convey the same meaning. At all.

Image: Vincent van Zalinge

A ladybird, also known as a ladybug, is a small, red beetle that is round and has black spots on its back. This familiar insect is, indeed, a "bug," but it has nothing to do with a "lady."

Image: Fleur

The third and last insect on the list is the butterfly, which, as a compound word, does not make much sense since a butterfly is neither a "fly" nor "butter."

Image: Rock Staar

An understanding is the way in which a particular piece of knowledge is thought about. However, understanding has nothing to do with "standing" or with "under" either.

Image: Julien Pianetti

It is not an "apple," and it is most definitely not a "pine." But if we look at the separate words that make up the compound word "pineapple," it sometimes seems to suggest it.