IF YOU'VE been looking outside over the past few days at night, you won't have failed to see the incredible full moon.

The February full moon is called the Snow Moon, because this month is when there is traditionally the heaviest snowfall of the year.

The full moon missed this year's snowfall, which came at the very start of the month, bringing disruption on the roads.

But with the skies clear of clouds for when the full moon finally made an appearance, that can only be a good thing, and, of course, our Echo Camera Club Dorset members made the most of the occasion and snapped some incredible shots of the moon.

The 2019 Snow Moon is also a supermoon, meaning it appears much larger than normal in the sky.

The tradition of naming moons according to the month they appear is very old, and the changing seasons were tracked by our ancestors according to the lunar month. Therefore the names of the moons often reflect the seasons, with the Flower Moon in May, the Harvest Moon in September or October and the Cold Moon in December.

According to the website timeanddate.com about once every 19 years, February - being the shortest month - does not have a full moon. This phenomenon is known as a Black Moon.

If you're hoping to capture your own supermoon picture, the good news is that March will also see a supermoon on Thursday 21.

There will also be new moon supermoons in August and September.

n Echo Camera Club Dorset is an online community of amateur photographers who post their photos and share advice on tips on locations to take photos and how to get the best shot. They keep the copyright of every photo they take, but they also get the opportunity to see their work in print and online in the Dorset Echo and our sister paper, the Bournemouth Echo. To join, of for more information, search Echo Camera Club Dorset on Facebook.