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Supermoon Will Ring In Spring For First Time In 38 Years

A comparison of a supermoon, left, and a micromoon, right.

A comparison of a supermoon, left, and a micromoon, right.

Photo Credit: NASA

Just hours after the start of spring, you'll want to keep an eye on the sky.

That's because, no matter what time zone you're in, look out for year's last supermoon at 9:43 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 20. A few hours earlier, at 5:58 p.m., the spring equinox marks the end of winter.

This marks the first time there's been a supermoon on Day 1 of spring since March 1981.

As if that's not enough, the start of spring and the supermoon will come as an asteroid passes about 200,000 miles from Earth. The asteroid, called 2019 EA2, will be even closer to Earth than the moon, according to the Minor Planet Center.

A supermoon is a full moon that nearly coincides with a perigee (the closest the moon comes to the Earth in its orbit) resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size of the moon viewed from Earth. (See image above.)

Wednesday will be sunny during the day with a high temperature around 50 degrees, but clouds will increase during the evening.

The most recent full supermoon occurred on Feb. 19, following one in January.

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