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August continues to be an exciting month for sky watchers. Following the peak of the Perseid meteor shower last week, the first of four consecutive supermoons of the year will rise on August 19. A rare cosmic combination of a supermoon and a blue moon peaks Monday at 2:26 p.m.
The last such lunar event occurred in August 2023, and the next super blue moons are predicted for January and March 2037. About a quarter of all full moons are supermoons, while just 3% of full moons Blue moons.
So-called supermoons appear as the biggest and brightest lunar events of the year. The Moon’s orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle, but an elliptical path. Scientists mark the moon’s closest point to Earth — about 226,000 miles (363,300 kilometers) on average — during its 27-day journey, the satellite’s perigee. According to NASA.
There are many different definitions of supermoons, said Noah Petro, laboratory chief of NASA’s Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory. However, a full moon at 90% of perigee is often described as a supermoon, he said.
When the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit, it appears 14% larger and 30% brighter than at its farthest point from the planet, called apogee, which is 251,000 miles (405,500 kilometers) from Earth.
Although this perceived size increase may be subtle, NASA describes a supermoon as significantly brighter than other full moons throughout the year. It can be challenging to see the difference, but a supermoon affects Earth significantly Higher tides than normal Because of its proximity.
Supermoons can be seen with the naked eye and do not require a specific viewing location. Throughout the night, the moon rises until just before sunrise.
Shannon Schmoll, director of Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium, says that if the sky is clear of clouds and you have a clear view, you should be able to see the moon.
“It’s light enough that you don’t need to go anywhere special,” and it’s visible right after the sun goes down, he said.
The joy of these full moons is that you can see them any night, before or after the full moon, if cloud coverage obscures the view.
“So there are actually three days when the full moon is really beautiful,” he said.
“The thing about these supermoons is that because they’re so close, they’re also bright.” He noted that if it’s a clear night, you can notice the brightness change outside. “You will be treated to this beautiful sight in the sky, with our moon hovering in the distance.”
Because supermoons are 30% brighter than average full moons, they are easier to spot.
“It’s a little bit brighter, and it’s always a good excuse to go outside and appreciate the universe, our place in it, and what we can see from Earth,” Schmoll said.
What are Blue Moons and Sturgeon Moons?
Despite the name dating back to 1528, the moon does not appear blue, according to NASA. Written by Gordon Johnston.
“The only time the moon appears to change color is during a lunar eclipse,” Pedro said.
Like supermoons, blue moons have different definitions – monthly and seasonal.
Schmoll explained: “On average, we have one full moon a month, but because most of our months are a bit longer than the lunar cycle, if we end up with a moon at the beginning of a month, we might have another full moon again at the end of the month. So sometimes it’s called a blue moon. .
A seasonal blue moon is often defined as the third full moon of an astronomical season of four full moons.
“If you take a season, a season lasts three months. So at that time, you’d typically get three full moons in the same season, and if a season ends with four, the third moon out of four is a blue moon, and that’s this blue moon,” Schmoll said.
In the 1930s, the Maine Farmer’s Almanac began using names associated with natural phenomena for full moons, Pedro said. These names are widely used and recognized. “The sturgeon moon originates from domestic observations in the environment,” he said.
The Maine Farmer’s Almanac says that the Algonquin tribe, who once lived in the northeastern part of the United States, referred to the full moon in August as the sturgeon moon, so named because large fish were so easily caught during this season.
Look for Jupiter and Mars when gazing at the moon, Schmoll said.
Last week, the two planets joined together and passed very close to each other from Earth’s point of view. From 2018 onwards. Schmoll said Jupiter and Mars will be very close to each other in the sky during the peak of the supermoon.
Over the next month or so, expect a bright event called a nova in the Milky Way’s Corona Borealis, or Northern Crown constellation. Astronomers expect D corona borealis, A binary system of a dead white dwarf star and an old red giant star that erupted explosively was named Blaze Star.
“It appears as a new star for a few days to a week before disappearing from the cluster’s view. This happens every 80 years,” Schmoll said. “We don’t know when it will happen, but we expect it to happen.” Schmoll said.
Supermoons for the rest of the year
The remaining supermoons of 2024 will occur on September 18, October 17 and November 15.
The September Super Moon is also a Partial lunar eclipseThat means the Earth will cast its shadow on part of the Moon, Pedro said. “It’s partial, so it’s not obvious to an observer,” he said.
The full, largest moon of the year rises in October. “The moon will actually be 100 kilometers (62 miles) closer to Earth on October 17,” Pedro said.
