The full moon in March is commonly referred to as the Worm Moon, which will shine its brightest by the end of the month. Here's what skywatchers have in store.

March 2024 - Worm Moon

The full Worm Moon wriggles its way into the night sky on Monday, March 25, 2024. The moon's phases for the month are:

• 🌗 Last Quarter: March 3.

• 🌑 New Moon: March 10.

• 🌓 First Quarter: March 17.

• 🌕 Full Moon: March 25.

This full moon is also a partial lunar eclipse, according to the experts at NASA, an imperfect alignment of the sun, Earth and moon that results in the moon passing through only part of Earth's umbra.

Mark your calendars: Hoosiers have less than 4 minutes to see this rare total solar eclipse in 2024

However, more research revealed the name likely originates from notes taken by Captain Jonathan Carver, who in the 1760s visited Native American tribes and wrote that the "Worm Moon" refers to a species of beetle larvae that emerged from thawing bark around this time.

Other names for March's full moon from Native American tribes include the Crow Comes Back Moon, the Eagle Moon and the Sugar Moon.

When is the best time to see the full moon in March 2024?

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, moonrise for the Indianapolis area will happen by roughly 8:38 p.m. Monday, March 25, crossing the meridian at 1:50 a.m. before setting at 7:52 a.m. Tuesday.

Why does the moon sometimes appear red?

You may have noticed the moon will occasionally take on a dramatic shade of orange or red in the night sky. That's because of how sunlight strikes the moon's surface after passing through our atmosphere.

When the moon moves into the inner part of Earth's shadow, or umbra, according to NASA, some of the sunlight entering Earth's skies scatters before reaching the moon's surface.

Colors with shorter wavelengths, such as blues and violets, scatter more easily than colors with longer wavelengths, which include red and orange. The more dust or clouds in Earth's atmosphere during a lunar eclipse, the redder the moon appears.

When is the next full moon of 2024?

Skywatchers in April can watch the Full Pink Moon shine in the heavens Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

Look up: Here's when every full moon shines in 2024

Almanac

Embedded content: https://www.almanac.com/sites/default/files/styles/or/public/image_nodes/full-moon-names-padding-2400px.png?itok=EXGfrJUC

John Tufts covers trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: March 2024 full moon: When to see the Worm Moon in Indiana