Full Moon 2020 UK: When is the next Full Moon? March Super Worm Moon rises tonight
THE second successive Supermoon is due to illuminate the skies tonight, as March's Worm Moon rises.
NASA outline what makes a supermoon 'super'
March 9 will see a Full Moon rise once more, with it being the second Supermoon in as many months. Following February’s Super Snow Moon, March ushers in the Worm Moon, also known as the Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, Sugar Moon and the Lenten Moon.
All the names have a similar meaning, with the gist of it being that they kick off spring time and the end of winter.
For example, Native Americans in the south called it the Worm Moon as they believed it was a time when the ground began to thaw, making it easier for worms to rear their heads from the Earth.
Native Americans in the North called it the Crow Moon when the cawing of crows signalled the end of winter.
NASA said on its website: “The Maine Farmer’s Almanac first published ‘Indian’ names for the full Moons in the 1930’s. As the full Moon in March and the last full Moon of winter, this Moon is called the Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, Sugar Moon, or Worm Moon.
“The more northern tribes of the northeastern United States knew this as the Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signalled the end of winter.
“Other northern names were the Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing by night, or the Sap (or Sugar) Moon as this is the time for tapping maple trees.
“The tribes more to the south called this the Worm Moon after the earthworm casts that appear as the ground thaws.
“It makes sense that only the southern tribes called this the Worm Moon. When glaciers covered the northern part of North America they wiped out the native earthworms.
“After these glaciers melted about 12,000 years ago the more northern forests grew back without earthworms.
“The earthworms in these areas now are mostly invasive species introduced from Europe and Asia.”
READ MORE: Supermoon tonight: NASA welcomes the Full Crow Moon 2020 tonight
The Moon will also be a Supermoon, making it the second of the year and twice in as many months.
On average, the Moon is 238,000 miles from Earth, but during a Supermoon the can be 221,000 miles away from our planet.
This is because the Moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle and is actually slightly oval.
The Full Moon will rise in the UK at about 5.57pm GMT on March 9, and will appear full for three nights.
However, as is often the case in the UK, clouds are expected to obscure the lunar satellite for most of the country.
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What are the full moons of 2020?
Here are all of the 13 named Full Moons you should look out for this year:
January 10 - Full Wolf Moon
February 9 - Full Snow Moon
March 9 - Full Worm Moon
April 8 - Full Pink Moon
May 7 - Full Flower Moon
June 5 - Full Strawberry Moon
July 5 - Full Buck Moon
August 3 - Full Sturgeon Moon
September 2 - Full Corn Moon
October 1 - Full Hunter’s Moon
October 31 - Blue Moon
November 30 - Full Beaver’s Moon
December 30 - Full Cold Moon