Cape Cod moon fans rejoice: August brings a rare blue moon − the month's second supermoon
Get ready, skywatchers: After the sturgeon supermoon earlier this month, a rare super blue moon will appear Aug. 30-31.
Up first was the sturgeon supermoon on Aug. 1. The Old Farmer's Almanac claimed it would reach its peak illumination at 2:32 p.m. EDT, but observers should have been able to see the rising moon shortly after sunset.
The sturgeon moon was named for the large fish in the Great Lakes, which were most easily caught at this time of the year.
Wednesday and Thursday night, catch a rare super blue moon to end the month. The last super blue moon was in December 2009. After the super blue moon of August, you'll need to set a reminder on your calendar for the next one − August 2032, a full nine years from now.
What is a supermoon?
When the moon’s orbit brings it closer to Earth than usual, the cosmic combo is called a supermoon.
When this happens, the moon can appear slightly bigger and brighter than normal.
"Different publications use slightly different thresholds for deciding when a full moon is close enough to the Earth to qualify as a supermoon," NASA said. "Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit."
On average, supermoons appear about 7% bigger and about 15% brighter than a typical full moon.
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What time is the super blue moon of 2023?
On Aug. 30-31, a blue full moon will appear and reach its peak illumination at 9:36 p.m. EDT.
When someone uses the term "once in a blue moon," you know they are talking about a rare event. (The color of the moon really isn't blue, of course. A blue moon still has the same appearance as a typical monthly full moon.)
Actually, a blue moon is unique because it's the fifth full moon of the season, or the "extra" moon. Normally, this occurs only every 2½ years. The second full moon in a month also has been known as a "blue moon" since the 1940s. Typically, this also only occurs once every 2½ years.
After the August super blue moon, the next time the moon will be this close to Earth will be on Nov. 5, 2025, when the moon will be "only" 221,817 miles from Earth.
Moon calendar for the rest of 2023
A full moon typically occurs every 29 days, but because most months are 30 or 31 days, it is sometimes possible for two full moons to occur in the same month.
The Farmers' Almanac predicts that the blue moon on Aug. 30 will be the year's biggest supermoon.
Contributing: Doyle Rice
SOURCE NASA; EarthSky.org; Old Farmer's Almanac; USA TODAY research
Dig Dipper: Supermoon. Here's what to know.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is a super blue moon? Rare event is Aug. 30-31: Best time to look
