Worm Moon 2018: Why this month's full moon has such a strange name, and when to see it

You won't actually be able to see any worms – in the sky, at least

(Getty Images Europe)

The worm moon is rising.

But there's no need to worry: there'll be no flying invertebrates or alien worms. The name is simply the traditional name for March's full moon, so there won't actually be anything unusual to see at all.

Every time the full moon rises in March, it's the worm moon. And it's given that name for the time of the year: it comes at the beginning of spring, and often coincides with the time of the year that worms and other animals start emerging and becoming visible.

The worm moon – and other, similar names for March's moon like crow moon or sap moon – is a traditional name given to the month's moon. They run all the way through the year, and the most commonly accepted names are taken from the farmer's almanac, reflecting the kinds of activities that went on in the time the moon rose.

Many of those names are a little messy and hard to trace to their beginnings. And lots have little relevance now, though the interest in the names of the moons actually seems to be rising in recent years.

So the worm moon won't be visible in any meaningful way at all. Or to put it another way, you'll definitely get a chance to see it: just look up when the moon is full.

That will happen overnight on 1 March.

There are some other interesting things about this month's moon. As well as opening with a full moon, March will be closed out with one too – meaning that the second one will be a "blue moon".

While those are very rare – which gives rise to the expression – it will be the second time there's been one in the first three months of 2018. January had a blue moon too – and what's more, it was a full blue blood moon.

The double moon also means that February didn't have a full moon at all, losing out to the very end of January and the very beginning of March.