March’s Full Moon, known as the Worm Moon, will peak at 3:18 AM ET on Friday, March 18, according to NASA. It will be full by Saturday morning. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, this moon will appear larger to viewers due to the “illusion of the moon”. This happens when the moon is close to the horizon and our eyes compare the size of the moon to trees, buildings, or other earthly objects. By comparing these landmarks to the moon, our brain tricks us into thinking the moon is bigger.
According to NASA, tribes of southern Native Americans named the worm moon after earthworm dregs — essentially feces — that came out when the earth thawed at the end of winter.
Another account in The Old Farmer’s Almanac states that the name refers to beetle larvae that emerge from their winter hiding places with the arrival of spring.
According to NASA, Northern Native American tribes lived among forests without native earthworms due to glaciers wiping out the species. Some of these groups instead referred to the moon as the black moon, as a nod to the birds whose cawing signaled the end of winter.
In the Hindu month of Phalguna, the March full moon marks the start of the Holi festival, a two-day celebration known as the “Festival of Love”, “Festival of Colors” and “Festival of Spring”, according to NASA.
There are nine full moons left in 2022, two of which are considered super moons. Here is a list of the remaining moons for 2022, according to the Farmers Almanac:
- September 10: Harvest Moon
While these are popular names associated with the monthly full moons, the meaning of each can vary among Indian tribes.
Lunar and solar eclipses
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, there will be two total lunar eclipses and two partial solar eclipses in 2022.
Partial solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, but only blocks some of its light. Be sure to wear suitable solar eclipse glasses to view solar eclipses safely, as sunlight can damage your eyes.
A partial solar eclipse on April 30 will be visible to residents of southern South America, the southeast Pacific Ocean and the Antarctic Peninsula. Another on October 25 will be visible to residents of Greenland, Iceland, Europe, northeast Africa, the Middle East, western Asia, India and western China. None of the partial solar eclipses will be visible from North America.
A lunar eclipse can only occur during a full moon, when the Sun, Earth, and Moon line up, and the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow. The Earth casts two shadows on the Moon during an eclipse. A penumbra is a partial outer shadow, and a shadow is a full dark shadow.
When the full moon goes into the shadow of the Earth, it darkens, but does not disappear. Sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere brightly illuminates the Moon, turning it red, which is why it is often referred to as the “Blood Moon”.
Depending on the weather conditions in your area, it may be rusty, brick or blood red.
This is because blue light undergoes more atmospheric scattering, so red light will be the most dominant color when sunlight passes through our atmosphere and is reflected back to the moon.
The total lunar eclipse will be visible to residents of Europe, Africa, South America, and North America (excluding the northwest regions) from 9:31 pm ET on May 15 to 2:52 pm ET on May 16.
Another total lunar eclipse will also be on display in Asia, Australia, the Pacific, South America and North America on November 8 from 3:01 am to 8:58 am ET. eastern regions of North America.
Meteor Rain
This year started with the Quadrantida meteor shower in January, but the next meteor shower won’t peak until April. Here are the remaining 11 streams to keep an eye on in 2022:
• Lyrids: April 21-22.
• Eta Aquariids: May 4-5.
• Southern Delta Aquarids: July 29-30.
• Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31.
• Perseids: August 11-12.
• Orionids: October 20-21.
• Southern Taurids: November 4-5.
• Northern Taurids: November 11-12.
• Leonids: November 17-18.
• Geminids: December 13-14.
• Ursids: December 21-22.
If you live in an urban area, you may want to go somewhere where there are no city lights to block your view.
Find an open area with a wide view of the sky. Make sure you have a chair or blanket so you can look straight up. And give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes without looking at your phone or other electronics to adjust to the dark so meteors are easier to spot.