A Rare Super Worm Moon Will Be Visible Over Ontario Tomorrow
Ontarians are in for quite the lunar spectacle this Wednesday. A rare super worm moon will float above Ontario tomorrow, a lunar event which marks the last super moon of 2019. The previous super moons which are commonly referred to as the “snow” and “wolf” moons occurred back January and February this year.
According to NASA, the super moon will only be visible for a few hours this Wednesday and should appear “slightly larger” in the sky. Despite its slightly unsettlingly names the “worm moon” actually signifies the official start of spring which after a long dreadful winter, pretty much makes it my favorite moon of all time.
Here’s a little trivia for you, the “worm moon” is actually a reference to the sprouting of earthworms during the spring thaw, earthworms become trapped underground during the winter due to the frozen ground.
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According to Moon Giant, the term “worm moon” was originally used by Southern Native American Tribes but not by their Northern counterparts who referred to the super moon as the “sap moon” due to the fact that the moon also signifies the start of maple syrup season. Personally, I think “worm moon” sounds way cooler and falls perfectly in line with the even cooler sounding super moon, the super blood wolf moon which occurs in January.
So, when does a super moon occur? What’s the science? Well according to NASA, these are a few of the contributing factors that make a dull, regular moon; super.
- "The Moon orbits Earth in an ellipse, an oval that brings it closer to and farther from Earth as it goes around."
- "The farthest point in this ellipse is called the apogee and is about 253,000 miles (405,500 kilometers) from Earth on average."
- "Its closest point is the perigee, which is an average distance of about 226,000 miles (363,300 kilometers) from Earth."
- "When a full moon appears at perigee it is slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon—and that's where we get a "supermoon."
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According to the Weather Network, skies are supposed to be relatively clear this Wednesday, so hopefully, residents will get to experience the "worm moon" at it's biggest and brightest.