What's in the March Night Sky?

March’s full moon is frequently called the Full Worm Moon.  The story goes this is because of the earthworms that wriggle out of the ground as the earth begins to thaw in March.  As a consequence some Native American Tribes referred to it as the Worm Moon and the return of robins to feast on the emerging worms.

The fact of the matter is that Northern tribes would not have embraced this name for the March moon as there were no earthworms. A Southern tribe maybe – but certainly not a Northern tribe.

Historically, earthworms did not exist in the northern reaches of continental North America. The ice sheets of the last glaciation wiped them out. All of the earthworms and night crawlers we see nowadays were introduced by European colonists – brought here in plant root balls and soil used as ship ballast. That’s right – earthworms are invasive species.  But I digress.

Northern American tribes such as the Shawnee tribe know this as the Sap Moon - a reminder for the tribes that they can begin tapping maple trees for the making of syrup.

In general, March’s full moon is known as a herald for the beginning of spring and new agricultural cycles. The European settlers referred to this as the Lenten Moon and as a way to measure the progress of their crops. They called it the Storm Moon if the weather was inclement – an indicator their crops might fail. Under ideal growing conditions they called it the Rugged Moon – a sign of a successful harvest that year.

One of its other names is the Chaste Moon, symbolizing the purity of early spring. The Pueblo tribe named it the Moon When the Leaves Break Forth, The Cree called it the Goose Moon, while in Shoshone culture it was known as the Warming Moon. The Ojibwe called the the Crows Come Back Moon, after the crows and other birds that appear as winter draws to a close.  It is also called the Crust Moon, because of the snow that becomes crusty when it thaws in the sun and freezes in the moonlight.

In my latitude the moon will be at its fullest on Friday morning at 2:18 AM.