In August, the universe will provide us with a double feature consisting of a pair of supermoons followed by an extremely uncommon blue moon. These kinds of events are full of surprises, so you shouldn’t miss out on them! Did you know that it wasn’t until 2018 that the sky was graced by the presence of two full supermoons in the same month? According to the inventor of the Virtual Telescope Project, an Italian astronomer named Gianluca Masi, this phenomenon won’t occur again until the year 2037. Find out below when the next two supermoons will occur and how you can make sure you don’t miss them.
Be sure to catch the opening night show! As the sun sets on Tuesday (August 1), the glorious supermoon will be rising in the southeast. It will look somewhat brighter and larger than it usually does. This is due to the fact that it will be considerably closer to Earth than normal, at a distance of just 222,159 miles (357,530 kilometers), earning it the name “supermoon.” That’s wonderful, isn’t it?! The first supermoon of the year occurred in July of this year. September is going to be the month for the fourth and last one. The two that will take place in August will be far more substantial than any of them.
Warm summer nights are the ideal time to watch the full moon rise in the eastern sky within minutes of sunset. And it happens twice in August, explained retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak, also known as Mr. Eclipse.
The full moon that occurs in August has historically been referred to as the “sturgeon moon,” as stated in the Old Farmer’s Almanac. That is due to the fact that there was plenty of such fish in the Great Lakes during the month of August several centuries ago.
On the evening of August 30, the moon’s distance from Earth will be a meager 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers), making it one of the closest it has ever been. It will be what’s known as a “blue moon” since it will be the second supermoon to occur in the same month.
Don’t forget to bring your binoculars and put your backyard telescopes in use to improve your experience and view all of the incredible aspects of the supermoons, such as the lunar maria, which are black plains caused by past volcanic lava flows, and the rays originating from lunar craters.
Tiesha loves to share her passion for everything that’s beautiful in this world. Apart from writing on her beauty blog and running her own beauty channel on Youtube, she also enjoys traveling and photography. Tiesha covers various stories on the website.