(Photo)
Do you know what the name of March’s full moon is?
March’s full moon is called the Full Worm Moon. The full moon will rise above the horizon on Thursday evening on March 12. It will reach its peak the morning of Friday, March 13. The peak illumination will happen at 12:55 AM MT. This moon will look larger to us when it’s near the horizon because of the Moon illusion. It looks bigger when near comparative objects than it does when it’s high in the sky without any references. If there is rain on either of those nights, you may get a glimpse of a rare phenomenon. Moonbow is like a solar rainbow but is created by moonlight rather than sunlight when it is refracted through water droplets in the air. Moonbows only happen when the full moon is fairly low in the sky.
It’s called Blood Worm Moon because in March, the soil begins to warm and the very first signs of life begin to return as earthworms, beetle larvae, and grubs emerge from their winter dormancy. This invites Robins and other birds to feed, a true sign of spring. With more research around the full moon. It was discovered that in the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver visited the Naudowessie (Dakota) and other Native American tribes. He had written that the name Worm Moon refers to a different sort of “worm” (beetle larvae) which begin to emerge from thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time.
Though March’s full moon is called Worm Moon, there are other names that speak with transition from winter to spring. The Ojibwe called it the Sugar Moon, which marks this time of the year when the sap of sugar maples start to flow. The Pueblo called it the Wind Strong Moon, which refers to the strong, windy days that come at this time of the year. The Dakota, Lakota, and Assiniboine called it the Sore Eyes Moon because it highlights the blinding rays of sunlight that reflect off the melting snow. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Lenten Moon as reference to Germanic Lenten for spring. In Old English it was called Death Moon and the Chaste Moon, which refers to the purity of the spring season.
Also around the time of the March full moon, there will be a Total Lunar Eclipse. The first one on Earth since 2022. Known as the Blood Moon, which will occur on March 14. During the Lunar Eclipse, the Sun, Moon, and Earth all align so that the Earth comes in between the Sun and Moon. This event means that the Earth will cast a shadow over the Moon. Known as the umbra. When the moon is in the umbra of the Earth, the Earth casts a reddish shadow, hence the name Blood Moon. There will be an umbral magnitude of 1.1804. The Lunar Eclipse will be visible from all North America. The Moon will enter the penumbra at 11:56 PM EDT on March 13. The Moon will enter the umbra at 1:09 AM EDT on March 14. It will leave the umbra at 4:48 AM EDT on March 14 and will leave the penumbra at 6:02 AM EDT.
Watch out for a beautiful few nights in March. The sky is going to look beautiful.
