Start the party with a magnificent super moon on March 9.

I don't know about you, but I've had spring fever since last October. And while it doesn't always mean the end of snow and cold, we'll get to welcome in spring this month thanks to the Spring Equinox in North America. While March 1 is generally thought of as the meteorological start of spring, the equinox marks the astronomical first day of spring and falls on Thursday, March 19.

The Spring Equinox marks the time in March when the sun crosses the celestial equator from south to north, and both hemispheres will receive the sun's rays about equally.  We can all look forward to increasingly warmer days as the midday sun begins its climb higher and the days get longer. 

"Equinoxes are the only two times a year (occurring in the spring and in the fall) that the sun rises due east and sets due west for all of us on Earth!" according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. 

Fun fact: this is the earliest spring any of us have lived through. The last time spring arrived this early was in 1896—a whopping 124 years ago! This year's equinox officially occurs at 11:50 p.m. EDT.

While you are waiting for spring to officially roll in, you can check out the Super Worm Moon on March 9! There is some argument whether this is the first super moon of the season, or whether the Snow Moon in February takes that title. But either way, you are in for a treat!

This March supermoon is named the "Worm Moon" because this time of year is typically when the ground begins to thaw and earthworms make their topside debut. It's also known as the Crow Moon or Sap Moon. 

A supermoon occurs when the Earth is closest to the moon’s perigee, which is the closest point of its orbit to Earth. This results in a huge-appearing moon hanging in the sky to dazzle us all, appearing around 16 percent brighter than an average full moon, as well.

The best viewing of a supermoon is just after moonrise when the moon is closer to the horizon. If you hope to catch the moon on the rise, remember that supermoons are brighter than most, making it harder to take a picture of, but keeping your camera stable with a tripod, using a low ISO, and setting a medium aperture in DSLR cameras will likely yield your best results.