The full moon in March is dubbed the Worm Moon. Why? Well it also happens to be the last full moon of Winter in the northern hemisphere. One school of thought says that it got its name from Native Americans who would note the end of Winter by the trails of earthworms the moon illuminated on freshly thawed soil. Yet a more recent school of thought suggests that the name refers to a beetle larva (or worm) which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time.
Whatever the reason, the Worm Moon lit up the sky on 24th March, hosting a penumbral eclipse. There is not much excitement with this type of eclipse as it is only the Earth’s outer shadow (or penumbra) that covers the moon. Consequently, there is only a subtle change in the brightness of the moon, which is not easy to see with the human eye. More action is seen with the popular umbral eclipse where you can witness a “blood moon”. For more information on the eclipse that occurred on 24th March, check out this link from earthsky.org.
Despite the uneventful nature of the penumbral eclipse, I still took the opportunity, fighting through clouds, to capture the moon. Here is my version of a mineral moon captured during the beginning of the eclipse. I believe that the lower left quadrant had a subtle dimming, but I can’t be sure 🙂. Even though the eclipse was not spectacular, it was a great opportunity to look up and experience an amazing Universe!
Gear: Omegon RC6, Canon 77D, EXOS 2GT Mount
Exif: mineral moon 125 frames @ ISO 200, f/9, exp 1/125 secs; overexposed moon 1 frame @ ISO 800, f/9, exp 1/4 secs
PixInsight, Photoshop
Love the “Finished Product”❤️! (Remember you sent me an advance copy of one of the proofs) I would say that you can talk yourself into seeing some slight dimming in that lower left quadrant…. However the final result is spectacular with the amazing palette of colors and detail. I hope that many of your readers were able to take advantage of seeing this in person. Despite the magnificence of any photograph, when you are able to see a moon like this through a telescope or binoculars you really comprehend the 3D nature of the object and realize that in fact, the Moon really is a “giant ball” in the sky! 👍💯😃🔭