Rare equinox super moon takes place over Pittsburgh tonight

PITTSBURGH — Wednesday night will be your last opportunity to view a supermoon in 2019 as the last of three this year will occur.

It’s called the “super worm equinox moon” and will shine big and bright in the sky tonight.

It’s a rare supermoon because it is coinciding with the spring equinox which hasn’t happened since 2000.

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The spring equinox is the moment when sun’s rays are directly over the equator and day and night are nearly equal.

A supermoon is a full moon that reaches its closest point to Earth in its own orbit which is something called perigee. Perigee happened on Tuesday when the moon came within about 223,000 miles from our planet. However, the moon doesn’t turn completely full until tonight.

The “worm moon” comes from an old folklore where the frost on the ground melts and earthworms start to emerge.

The moon rises in the east sky tonight at 7:14 p.m.

Clouds look to build in tonight but where there are breaks, you may be able to catch the spectacle.

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