A glimpse of the rare August super blue moon that peaks today

A so-called supermoon appears as the biggest and brightest lunar event of the year. The moon’s orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle but an ellipse. Scientists refer to the moon’s closest point to Earth — an average distance of about 226,000 miles (363,300 kilometers) — along its 27-day journey as perigee. According to NASA.

There are different definitions of a supermoon, said Noah Petro, head of NASA’s Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory. However, a full moon that is within 90 percent of perigee is often described as a supermoon.

When the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit, it can appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than when it is at its farthest point from the planet, known as aphelion, about 251,000 miles (405,500 kilometers) from Earth.

While this noticeable increase in size may be subtle, NASA describes a supermoon as being noticeably brighter than other full moons throughout the year. It may be hard to see the difference, but a supermoon has a significant impact on Earth, causing Tides are higher than normal. Because of its proximity.

The supermoon can be seen with the naked eye and does not require a specific location to see it. Throughout the night, the moon rises higher until just before sunrise.

If the sky is clear and you have a clear view, you should be able to see the moon, said Shannon Schmuhl, director of Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium.

“It’s bright enough that you don’t need to go anywhere special,” she said, and can be seen right after sunset.

The fun of these full moons, Pietro said, is that if clouds obscure your view, you can look any night before or after the full moon peaks.

“So there are three days when the moon will be full at its most beautiful,” he added.

“The advantage of these supermoons is that they’re much closer together and they’re much brighter,” he said. If it’s a clear night, you might notice a change in brightness outside, he said. “You’ll have this beautiful view in the sky, our moon hovering in the distance.”

Because supermoons are 30% brighter than average full moons, they are easier to spot.

“The sky will be a little bit brighter, and it’s always a good excuse to get outside and enjoy the universe and our place in it and what we can see from Earth,” Schmuhl said.

What are blue moons and sturgeon moons?

Although the name dates back to 1528, the moon will not appear blue, according to NASA. Gordon Johnston wrote.

“Only when there is a lunar eclipse does the moon appear to change color,” Pietro said.

As with supermoons, there are different definitions of blue moons – monthly and seasonal.

“On average, we have one full moon per month, but because most of our months are a little bit longer than the lunar cycle, that means if we end up with a full moon at the beginning of the month, we may have another full moon at the end of the month. So that’s sometimes called a blue moon,” Schmuhl explained.

A seasonal blue moon is often defined as the third full moon in an astronomical season of four full moons.

“If we take a season, a season is about three months long. So during that time, you’ll typically have three full moons in a season, and if you end up with four full moons in a season, the third of the four will be a blue moon, and that’s the blue moon,” Schmuhl said.

The Maine Farmers’ Almanac began naming full moons in the 1930s, Petro said, and the names have since become widely used and recognized. “The sturgeon moon originates from original observations within the environment,” he said.

The Maine Farmer’s Almanac notes that the Algonquin tribes, who once lived in the northeastern United States, referred to the full moon in August as the Sturgeon Moon, named for the large fish that were more easily caught during this season.

Jupiter and Mars should be monitored while looking at the moon, Schuml said.

Last week, the two planets lined up in conjunction, reaching their closest point to each other from Earth’s point of view. Since 2018Jupiter and Mars will likely remain fairly close together in the sky during the supermoon’s peak, Schmuhl said.

In the next month or so, we’re expecting a bright event, known as a new star, to occur in the constellation Corona Borealis in the Milky Way. Astronomers expect T Corona Borealis, Called a flaring star, it explodes explosively when a binary system consisting of a dead white dwarf star and an aging red giant star violently collapses.

“There will be what looks like a new star in the constellation for a few days to a week before it fades from view. This is something that happens every 80 years or so,” Schmuhl said. “This is something we don’t know exactly when it will happen, but we expect it to happen.” Schmuhl said.

The remaining supermoon of the year

The remaining supermoons in 2024 will occur on September 18, October 17, and November 15.

The supermoon will be in September too. partial lunar eclipseThat means the Earth will cast its shadow on part of the moon, Pietro said. “It’s part of the moon, so it won’t be visible to the viewer,” he added.

The fullest and largest moon of the year will appear in October. “The moon will be about 100 kilometers (62 miles) closer to Earth on October 17,” Pietro said.