The name of this month's full moon is a strange and slithery one! It’s called the Worm Moon, and it will reach its peak on Sunday at 2:48 pm EDT.
Although it will reach its fullest phase on Sunday, it will appear full the night before and after its peak.
Full moon names typically correspond to seasonal markers. For example, the Harvest Moon occurs at the end of the growing season in September or October. The cooler month of December is assigned the Cold Moon. Meanwhile, the Worm Moon is a reference to the earthworms that start appearing in the soil in early spring.
On Tuesday, the moon will reach perigee, the nearest point to Earth in its orbit. This means the moon will appear slightly larger than usual in the night sky and may be referred to as a "supermoon" (by some definitions), according to NASA.
When the full moon coincides with perigee it is sometimes called a "supermoon." However, the full moon will miss perigee by about 35 hours. "Supermoon" isn't an official technical term used by astronomers. Whether a full moon counts as "super" depends on how close to the full moon the user of the word thinks perigee should be.
Full Moons in 2021
Date | Name | U.S. Eastern Time | UTC |
Jan 28 | Wolf Moon | 2:16 p.m. | 19:16 |
Feb 27 | Snow Moon | 3:17 a.m. | 8:17 |
Mar 28 | Worm Moon | 2:48 p.m. | 18:48 |
Apr 26 | Pink Moon | 11:31 p.m. | 3:31 (Apr. 27) |
May 26 | Flower Moon | 7:14 a.m. | 11:14 |
Jun 24 | Strawberry Moon | 2:40 p.m. | 18:40 |
Jul 23 | Buck Moon | 10:37 a.m. | 2:37 (Jul 24) |
Aug 22 | Sturgeon Moon | 8:02 a.m. | 12:02 |
Sep 20 | Corn Moon | 7:55 a.m. | 23:55 |
Oct 20 | Harvest Moon | 10:57 a.m. | 14:57 |
Nov 19 | Beaver Moon | 3:58 a.m. | 8:58 |
Dec 18 | Cold Moon | 11:36 p.m. | 4:36 (Dec 19) |
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