Full moon exact time, usually in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Typical monthly calendars that include lunar phases may be offset by one day when used in a different time zone. Full moon is generally a suboptimal time for astronomical observation of the Moon because shadows vanish. It is a poor time for other observations because the bright sunlight reflected by the Moon, amplified by the opposition surge, then outshines many stars. On 12 December 2008, the full moon occurred closer to the Earth than it had been at any time for the previous 15 years, called a supermoon. On 19 March 2011,
March equinox about 18 hours 11 minutes "earlier" than the previous year. Balancing the increases of the common years against the losses of the leap years keeps the calendar date of the March equinox from drifting more than one day from 20 March each year. The March equinox may be taken to mark the beginning of spring and the end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere but marks the beginning of autumn and the end of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In astronomy, the March equinox is the zero point of sidereal time and, consequently, right ascension. It also serves as a