Worm Moon

March's full moon, the Worm Moon, reaches peak illumination on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 6:38 a.m. EST (11:38 UTC). To the naked eye, the Moon looks full for about a day on either side of the peak. That makes the evenings of March 2 and March 3 the best nights to watch it rise.

Quick facts

Peak time by US time zone

The Moon is exactly full at one instant worldwide. Only the clock reading changes.

Times are calculated with the open-source astronomy-engine library. Other published sources may differ by about a minute because of rounding.

Is it a supermoon?

No. At full phase the Moon is about 382,603 km from Earth (center to center), not close enough to perigee (370,125 km) to qualify under the common definitions.

Best viewing tips

Watch the moonrise. In New York City, the Moon rises at about 5:08 p.m. on March 2 (sunset 5:48 p.m.) and at about 6:17 p.m. on March 3 (sunset 5:49 p.m.). Times for your city will differ, so check the Moonlix moonrise page for your location.

Find a clear eastern horizon. Near the horizon, the full moon often looks orange and unusually large. The color comes from Earth's atmosphere filtering out blue light. The size is the well-known Moon illusion, a trick of perception rather than a real change.

Where it sits in the sky. At its highest, this full moon is at a medium height in the sky for mid-northern US latitudes. March weather can be changeable, so check the forecast for both the night before and the night of the full moon. Twilight lasts a little less time around the equinox, so the sky darkens quickly after moonrise.

Binoculars and cameras. Ordinary 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars show the dark lunar seas and the bright rays around the crater Tycho. For photos, use a tripod and a telephoto lens, shoot during blue hour just after sunset, and expose for the Moon. A good starting point is ISO 100, f/8 and 1/250 s.

Name origin and folklore

The Worm Moon name is commonly explained by earthworms reappearing as the ground thaws, which brings birds back to feed. Another explanation points to the trails beetle larvae leave in tree bark. Sap Moon refers to the season when maple sap starts to flow in the northern US, and Lenten Moon is a European name tied to Lent.

Other names recorded for this month's full moon include Crow Moon, Sap Moon, Lenten Moon. Most full moon names popular in the US today were spread by the Old Farmer's Almanac and the Farmers' Almanac. Native nations had their own names, which varied by region and language, so no single list is "official."

What else is in the sky

This full moon brings a total lunar eclipse, with greatest eclipse at 6:33 a.m. EST (11:33 UTC). The total phase is visible from western North America before sunrise; eastern states see the Moon set during or before totality. Use the March 2026 moon calendar to see every phase, and the daily moon phase pages for illumination on any date.