Night Sky Photography -- 03-07-2023 -- The Full Worm Moon, The Hunter & His Dogs

This evening, I was blessed with clear skies and was able to capture some good shots of the March 2023 Full Moon -- or Full Worm Moon in North America -- in the evening just after 9 PM EST.

The title shot is the full moon with the foreground of the branches of the blossoming tree in my backyard. A nice little reminder that winter here in South Carolina is almost over (at least officially) and the spring equinox will be here in just two short weeks.

Here is a more clear shot of the full moon without any obstructions.

Now looking more towards the southern sky over the tree tops we can see three important winter constellations all connected by the Winter Triangle asterism: Orion The Hunter and his two dogs: "The Greater Dog" Canis Major and "The Lesser Dog" Canis Minor.

The Constellation Orion is easy to spot with the three stars of "Orion's Belt"  -- Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka -- forming the most easily recognizable asterism in the night sky. The Constellation Canis Major is probably the easiest to find because of the bright white star, Sirius -- the Dog Star -- shining brightly nearby.

Sirius and the star, Betelgeuse, that makes up Orion's shoulder, when joined by the other nearby bright star, Procyon, in the small Constellation Canis Minor, form a nearly perfect triangle-shaped asterism known as the Winter Triangle.