Ryan Morrison and Jonathan Chadwick For Mailonline - March 9, 2020
Spectacular pictures of the 'worm' supermoon have been captured lighting up the night sky by photographers around the world. The March full moon will reach peak fullness tonight at 5:48pm GMT - but it appeared full from Sunday night and will still be visible through to Tuesday.
The Worm Moon will be 'spectacularly bright', according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, and appear about seven per cent larger than a normal full moon. A supermoon occurs when the full moon nearly coincides with perigee – the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the Earth. At perigee a supermoon can appear as much as 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal, when viewed from Earth, depending on the time of year.
Full moon names, which are used to describe the supermoons, were historically used to track the seasons and therefore are closely related to nature. ‘Worm Moon’ is the common name for March’s full moon because at the time it appears the ground begins to soften and heaps of soil left by worms start to appear. This invites the return of birds to feed, which is seen as a sign of springtime starting to return after a long winter.
There will be two additional supermoons this season – April 8, when a ‘Pink Moon’ will be 221,851 miles from Earth, and the ‘Flower Moon’ on May 7, at 224,429 miles away.
FULL MOON NAMES AND THEIR MEANINGS
January: Wolf Moon because wolves were heard more often at this time.
February: Snow Moon to coincide with heavy snow.
March: Worm Moon as the Sun increasingly warmed the soil and earthworms became active.
April: Pink Moon as it heralded the appearance of Phlox subulata or moss pink – one of spring’s first flowers.
May: Flower Moon because of the abundance of blossoms.
June: Strawberry Moon because it appeared when the strawberry harvest first took place.
July: Buck Moon as it arrived when a male deer’s antlers were in full growth mode.
August: Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that was easily caught at this time.
September: Corn Moon because this was the time to harvest corn.
October: Hunter's Moon after the time to hunt in preparation for winter.
November: Beaver Moon because it was the time to set up beaver traps.
December: Cold Moon because nights at this time of year were the longest.
Source: Old Farmer's Almanac
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