|Updated:
This winter has been bitter for many of us, so let’s talk about a traditional sign of spring appearing in the night sky next month—the “Worm Moon.”
Ushering in morning runs and perhaps some early gardening, the March full moon will signal getting outside more as the weather warms and daylight lengthens. For Native Americans, similarly, this full moon meant maple syrup flowing again and birds like geese and eagles returning.
It also signified beetle larva squirming in the bark of trees and worms wriggling in the thawing soil, thus tribespeople dubbed it the Worm Moon. The name was adopted by colonial explorers centuries ago and it stuck. It’s still used today.
On average, full moons in March don’t look terribly different from those in other months, but a total lunar eclipse next month will make this one exceptional. When the full Worm Moon falls on March 3, at 6:38 a.m. ET, the Earth’s shadow will cause it to darken and turn deep red. This is known as a “Blood Moon.”
It will cross fully behind the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, the umbra, where no direct sunlight hits, and then be bathed in red light. Literally the glow of all the sunrises and sunsets on Earth will, at the same time, refract through the atmosphere and onto the moon’s surface. This eerie glow only appears during totality and never during partial or penumbral lunar eclipses.
Obviously, the Blood Moon was named after this deep-red hue. However whenever it coincides with the Worm Moon it officially becomes the “Blood Worm Moon”—no joke. That’s really what next month’s moon is called.
Not everyone in the world will be privy to see the March lunar eclipse. Most North Americans will, though, as will observers in Australia, Asia, and Oceania. If you’re in New York City, the Blood Worm Moon will appear over the western horizon at 6:03 a.m. ET, just 20 minutes before sunrise. Those in Los Angeles will have to wake up at 4:03 to watch the moon go red. ...