Spring Starts With This Year's Last Supermoon

There are three supermoons scheduled to dazzle the Earth's night sky for the year 2019. The first one was a "Blood Wolf Super Moon" that happened on January 21. The second one was February 19's "Super Snow Moon." The third and final supermoon for this year will be occurring on the first day of Spring, March 20.

The supermoon happening on the Spring Equinox is called the "Full Worm Super Moon" because of the worms that emerge from the ground every first day of Spring as Native Americans have observed. The eclipse is also going to happen around the same time that an asteroid is going to pass by Earth. The best time to observe the moon will be on Wednesday morning at 1:43 A.M. GMT (9:45 pm today ET) when the moon will be in its fullest and brightest.

The name of this supermoon, "Full Worm Super Moon," is taken from the traditions of the Native Americans wherein they use the Farmer's Almanac in predicting seasonal changes. It is also given other names such as "Crow Moon," "Crust Moon," "Sap Moon," and "Sugar Moon." 

These other names are the preferred nomenclature of the different tribes located across America. Most of the tribes that are located in the northeastern United States know this eclipse as the "Crow Moon" as the end of winter is usually signaled by crows cawing. Others refer to the eclipse as the "Crust Moon" as the snow that covers the ground thaws in the morning and freezes in the evening. As a result, the snow becomes crusted.

In other cultures, this is the time for tapping the maple trees. Thus, the supermoon is dubbed by the locals as "Sap Moon" or "Sugar Moon."

According to NASA, the moon will appear brighter and fuller than other full moons of the year because it is very close to its perigee, the closest point to Earth in the moon's orbit. During this time, the moon will appear 14% larger and also 30% brighter than when the moon is at the farthest point or the apogee. Richard Nolle coined the term "supermoon" in 1979.

The moon is said to be at 223,300 miles away from the Earth instead of its usual distance which is at 240,000 miles. The equinox is said to start at 5:58 P.M. ET on Wednesday, March 20. That makes less than four hours before the fullness of the supermoon could be observed.