Technology
Full Worm Moon THIS week will be huge in the sky – here’s how to see it
LOOK to the skies this weekend to see a huge, bright Full Moon.
This Sunday marks the “Worm Moon”, which will make for great photos due to its large apparent size.
This image shows a full Harvest Moon captured in 2007[/caption]
Of course, the Moon isn’t actually getting bigger.
But April and May mark two official Super Moons, which is when the Moon is closer to Earth than usual.
The next Full Moon takes place on Sunday, March 28.
A full Moon at this time of the year is also known as the Worm Moon.
This is a full Super Moon captured on November 14, 2016[/caption]
It’s also known as the Crow Moon, Sap Moon, Crust Moon, Lenten Moon and Wind Moon.
The Moon is little more than a rock orbiting Earth.
Importantly, it doesn’t produce any visible light of its own.
So when we see the Moon, it’s only thanks to light from other objects (like the Earth or Sun) hitting it, and then bouncing off down to our eyes.
The Moon, the Earth and the Sun are constantly changing positions, which means we see different parts of the Moon at any given time.
When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, its rear side is lit up – leaving it in darkness for humanity.
That’s called a new Moon.
And when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun, it’s fully lit – giving us a full Moon.
There are various phases in between these two points, with a total cycle of about 29.5 days.
There are 12 full Moons to spot in 2021, each with its own unique name.
Here’s the full list:
- January 28 – Wolf Moon
- February 27 – Snow Moon
- March 28 – Worm Moon
- April 27 – Pink Moon
- May 26 – Flower Moon
- June 24 – Strawberry Moon
- July 24 – Buck Moon
- August 22 – Sturgeon Moon
- September 21 – Corn Moon / Harvest Moon
- October 20 – Hunter’s Moon
- November 19 – Beaver Moon
- December 19 – Cold Moon
Of these, there are two “Super Moons”, where the full Moon appears bigger and brighter than usual.
The two official Super Moons are on April 27 and May 26.
However, some astronomers class the March and June full Moons as Super Moons this year, due to their enormous size in the sky.
The Moon on March 28 will appear huge and bright, and will make for a great photo.
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In other news, find out what a blue moon is.
Read about the plan to create a “Noah’s ark” for DNA on the Moon.
And Nasa has released historic first audio recordings captured on the surface of Mars.
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