Night Sky Photography -- 03-20-2019 -- Spring Equinox & The Super Full Worm Moon

Good evening fellow night sky watchers!

The Vernal Equinox (spring equinox) arrived on Wednesday, March 20 at exactly 5:58 p.m. EST (EDT) in South Carolina, USA. This signals the changing of the seasons around the globe, marking the transition from winter to spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the flip from summer to autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. The equinox occurs when the Earth tilts and the sun's rays fall directly on the equator, making day and night roughly the same exact length across the globe.

The March full moon ushers in the first full moon of spring for the Northern Hemisphere, coming less than four hours after the start of the spring equinox. 

This is the closest coincidence of a full moon with the March equinox since March 2000. The full moon and March equinox won’t happen less than one day apart again until March 2030.

Supermoons appear slightly bigger and brighter than normal full moons to most people. If you happen to catch the moon just after it has risen in the east, around sunset, the moon does appear much larger. This has less to do with the supermoon than it does from a psychological effect known as the moon illusion. 

 

One of the things about early spring here in upstate South Carolina that can be a bummer for stargazers are the mostly cloudy evenings. Thanks to these cloudy evenings I was unable to capture a good shot of the third and final supermoon of 2019 at moonrise. 

However, I was able to get a really beautiful shot later on in the evening when the skies cleared of the full moon through some beautiful spring blooms -- which I thought was an especially nice touch for the first full moon of spring. The second shot is a closeup of Luna and its surface. Both were taken around 10 PM EST on Thursday, March 21st.

 

The next supermoon is not set to rise until Wednesday, February 9, 2020. 

Here are a couple of neat little details about this particular full moon.

The March full moon in the Northern Hemisphere is called the Full Worm Moon. At this time of the year, the ground begins to soften enough for earthworm casts to reappear, inviting birds to feed. Roots start to push their way up through the soil and the Earth experiences a re-birth as flowers begin to bloom -- though due to the effects of climate change the latter has happened a little early this year.

Another alternative name for the March full moon is the Full Sap Moon, as this is the time of year when the sap of sugar maples starts to flow -- that is mostly a call out to our Yankee friends up in Vermont.

Another really cool fact is that, by tradition, Easter Sunday normally occurs on the first Sunday following the full moon. The interesting little fact about this Supermoon is that it falls on the first official day of spring; but according to ecclesiastical rules set by the Church, the Spring equinox is fixed on March 21, so that places this year’s Easter on Sunday, April 21, 2019. April's full moon occurs on this year's Good Friday, April 19th.  

Well folks, I hope y'all enjoyed my photos and fun facts about this year's Super Full Worm Moon. Have a Wonderful Dixie Day and y'all remember to keep looking to the night skies.