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Blue moons traditionally come around, well, once in a blue moon. But 2018 is nothing if not unconventional.
Taking a cue from January’s lunar anomaly, March will host two full moons: one on March 1 and another on March 31.
Poor February, already the runt of the litter, saw no full moons this year.
Take a gander at the sky tonight, around 7:51 p.m. Eastern Time, to see the full worm moon—named by Native Americans who used lunar phases to track the seasons.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, it’s around this time of year that the ground begins to soften enough for earthworms to reemerge, inviting the return of migrating birds.
“Roots start to push their way up through the soil, and the earth experiences a re-birth as it awakens from its winter slumber,” the reference site said.
The start of spring is firmly in our sights (despite the snow storm brewing outside my window in Edinburgh).
And since the vernal equinox falls on March 20, this month’s book-end events actually span two seasons: The worm moon (also known as the crow moon, crust moon, sap moon, sugar moon, chaste moon, or lenten moon) is the last of winter, and the blue moon is the first of spring.
Look out for the second full moon on March 31 around 8:37 a.m. ET.
And keep an eye on the rest of this month’s lunar cycle, from the last quarter moon on March 9 to the new moon on March 17 and the first quarter moon on March 24.
No more blue moons are expected through 2019. Check out the Farmer’s Almanac for a schedule of every full moon for the next two years.
None will be as spectacular as January’s “super blue blood moon”—the second full moon of the month, which also happened to be a total lunar eclipse.
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