A twinkling moon will shine through Monday with a celestial performance predicted for humans, a partial lunar eclipse.

March’s full moon, dubbed the “Worm Moon” by the Farmers’ Almanac because of its proximity to the vernal equinox, will be at its peak at 3am.

A few hours earlier, starting at 12:53 p.m., according to EarthSky, the moon will be almost perfectly aligned with the sun and Earth.

“The greatest eclipse will be at 3:12 a.m., when the moon will appear slightly darker than usual. It will be almost a gradient of darkening that will occur from one side of the moon to the other. It won’t be a super dramatic change in what we see on the Moon. But if you’re sitting there looking at it, you might notice some slight changes in brightness,” said Dr. Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, according to CNN.

The “Worm Moon,” named by Native American tribes for the beetle larvae and other creatures that emerge from hibernation in the spring, will be visible to everyone around the world as the moon will appear full for some day.

“However, the penumbral eclipse will only be visible to those on the night side of the Earth when the event occurs, including Europe, North and East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America and South America. The lunar eclipse will end at 5:33 am,” EarthSky reports.

What to Expect During April’s Total Solar Eclipse

The eclipse comes about two weeks before a total solar eclipse that will pass over Mexico, the United States and Canada on April 8. Lunar and solar eclipses always come in pairs because of the period when the sun, Earth, and moon line up.

According to NASA, “eclipse season” is the roughly 35-day period that occurs every six months, near the equinoxes, when the three celestial bodies necessary for eclipses are in near-perfect alignment.

A lunar eclipse does not occur every month during every full moon because the moon’s orbital plane is tilted by about 5 degrees, so for most full moons the Earth’s shadow will be slightly below or above the moon.

While a partial lunar eclipse is not as dramatic as a total lunar eclipse with the moon appearing an eerie red, no special equipment is required to view a lunar eclipse such as the viewing glasses required for a solar eclipse allowing for lunar eclipses , to be seen with the naked eye.

“You just have to be outside with a clear view of the moon when that happens. “Eclipses are always a good excuse to go outside and try to look at the sky and appreciate where we are in the universe and what we are able to observe from our planet,” said the researcher.

Here are the remaining full moons of 2024:

• April 23: Pink Moon
• May 23: Moon of flowers
• June 21: Strawberry Moon
• July 21: Buck moon
• August 19: Sturgeon Moon
• September 17: Harvest Moon
• October 17: Hunter’s Moon
• November 15: Beaver Moon
• December 15: Cold Moon