This is the date when night and day are most nearly the same length. If you live in the northern hemisphere, happy first day of spring! In the southern hemisphere, the vernal equinox corresponds to the first day of fall.
Canton is the fellow who updates your astronomy calendar (full moons, equinoxes, meteor showers, etc.) from his laptop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It’s his birthday today!
The astronomy calendar is an effort of love and no reciprocity is needed or expected, but if you’d like to learn more about the calendar or say thank you for his efforts (or even report an error!) then please visit:
https://cantonbecker.com/astronomy-calendar/credits.html
In the northern hemisphere, early Native American tribes called this the Worm Moon because this was the time of year when the ground would begin to soften and the earthworms would reappear.
In the southern hemisphere, we might call it The Full Fruit Moon due to the wide variety of fruits harvested throughout Australia and New Zealand in March. Different climates dictate the type of fruit most associated with the regions of these two countries. So this could be easily called the Full Grape Moon, Full Apple Moon, Full Melon Moon and so on. Some folks tried to make this simple and lumped everything into one basket and simply called it the Fruit Moon.
A fairly bright moon will interfere with this fairly average shower, so try to catch it in the very early morning after the moon has set. The Lyrids can be counted on for about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861. The shower runs annually from April 16-25. It peaks on the night of the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
This is also the first of three „supermoons” for 2021, with the moon making a closer-than-usual pass by earth. (It will be closest during the next new moon… when you can’t see it.)
In the northern hemisphere, this full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Pink Moon because it marked the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the first spring flowers. This moon has also been known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Growing Moon, and the Egg Moon. Many coastal tribes called it the Fish Moon because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
In the southern hemisphere this might be the Full Harvest Moon. The harvest of all crops usually gets into full swing in April, along with hunting to stock up the meat cellars. This could easily be called The Full Hunters Moon, or it might be named for a specific fruit that’s prominent in the region, or an animal that’s plentiful and commonly sought for meat.