The third and final full moon of the year — dubbed the equinox supermoon — is set to peak on Wednesday evening, hours after the start of the spring equinox, and it appears a “thick” layer of clouds may obstruct viewing in the Valley, according to the National Weather Service in Phoenix.
When asked about the weather conditions via Twitter, NWS replied: “Cloud cover looks to be pretty thick tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, so conditions for viewing the supermoon will not be ideal.” Bummer!
The moon will peak at 6:43 p.m. Arizona time (9:43 p.m. EDT) on Wednesday, according to NASA and EarthSky.org.
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It is also considered to be a significant event that the full moon falls on the same day as the spring equinox and within hours of each other. The last time that happened was in March 2000, according to EarthSky. It will not happen again until March 2030. That is why it is referred to as the equinox supermoon. (It’s also called the “Worm Moon,” according to the Farmer’s Almanac .)
It is called a “supermoon” because the moon will appear brighter and larger in the sky. That happens “when the moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time it is full,” according to NASA.
That is not to say there will not be other full moons this year. According to EarthSky, the next full moons will happen on April 19, May 18 and June 17.