EYES TO THE SKIES FOR AUGUSTS FULL “STURGEON MOON” - A SPECIAL “BLUE MOON” PLUS A “SUPER MOON” TOO, APPEARING SLIGHTLY BRIGHTER AND LARGER!🔭💙🌕✨ - 19/08/24
On this evening, the 19th of August into the morning of the 20th, we will hopefully be treated to views of a beautiful full moon, weather permitting of course. This August’s full moon will be an extra special full moon as it will be what is known as a ‘blue moon’ and also a ‘super moon’, appearing larger and brighter than usual!
A blue moon is quite a rare occurrence and a super blue moon even more so! So we recommend those of you who can, please take a moment to witness this very special full moon.
If you would like more information on this August’s full Super Blue Sturgeon moon including what a full moon, blue moon and super moon is, why it is known as the sturgeon moon, when and where to look to find the moon, plus other celestial treats to look our for, please read on…
WHAT IS A FULL MOON?
A full Moon occurs when its position in its orbit around Earth is at its furthest distance from the Sun (almost on the opposite side of the Earth compared to the Sun). When this happens, the side of the Moon that can be seen from Earth is completely illuminated, giving it the appearance of being full.
WHAT IS A SUPER MOON?
August’s full moon is what we call a super moon and will be the first of four super moons this year.
The term super moon is the more popular way of referring to an astronomical event known to scientists as perigee-syzygy. This describes the confluence of two events:
Perigee, when the moon is at its closest to Earth along its orbit of our planet (at least 90% perigee means the moon constitutes as a super moon) in fact the moon will be only around 357,000 km away from Earth at the point of perigee-syzygy.
Syzygy, when the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned making the Moon fully illuminated (a full moon).
During a super moon the Moon will appear brighter and larger than an average full moon. On average, super moons are said to be about 7% bigger and about 15% brighter than a typical full Moon. According to NASA, a super moon will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the smallest full moon (when the Moon is at apogee, it’s furthest distance away from Earth).
WHAT IS A BLUE MOON?
A Blue Moon is a rare occurrence which can be defined in two different ways.
The traditional/original definition of a Blue Moon is the third full moon of four full moons within a season. A season being a tri-monthly period between a solstice and equinox (eg. June’s Summer solstice and Septembers Autumn equinox). If there were to be four full moons within one of these three month periods, the third of these full moons would be known as a Blue Moon (more specifically a seasonal Blue Moon). The full moon on the 19th – 20th of August will be a seasonal blue moon.
The more widely recognised and modern definition of a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a single calendar month.
Each of these types of Blue Moon are rare astronomical events. The next seasonal Blue Moon will occur in 3 years’ time on the 20th of May 2027. The next monthly Blue Moon won’t occur for another 2 years, happening on the 31st of May 2026. The next Blue Moon that will also be a super moon won’t occur until 2037!
IS A BLUE MOON ACTUALLY BLUE IN COLOUR?
Despite being called a Blue Moon, a blue moon won’t appear blue. At least it is very unlikely to appear blue.
There are some very rare occasions where atmospheric conditions can lead to the moon appearing blue in colour. The Moon can appear blue if Earth’s atmosphere contains dust or smoke particles of a certain size eg. if a wildfire is raging nearby. Particles of this size are can scatter red light and if these particles are present in the air and the moon shines through them, the moon may appear blue in colour.
INTERESTING BLUE MOON FACTS, SUPERSTITIONS AND MYTHS
The term ‘Blue Moon’ is often thought to have been coined by the famous English playwright William Shakespeare. However, there are earlier references in a religious pamphlet written by Protestant friars William Roy and Jerome Barlow in 1528. The popular modern day definition of a Blue Moon is thought to have come about due to misunderstanding about seasonal Blue Moons picked up by the mainstream media in the 1940’s.
Blue Moons have been associated with an abundance of superstitions, myths and spiritual practices throughout history all over the world. Blue Moons have been thought to bring good fortune to those who look upon them. Turning a coin in your pocket during a Blue Moon has also been thought to invoke good luck. In some cultures a Blue Moon is a time to communicate with long passed ancestors. Picking berries or flowers during a Blue Moon was believed to increase their magical potential.
THE STURGEON MOON
The full moon of each month has been given names by many cultures and peoples throughout history. The most commonly known full moon names are derived from Native American tribes. The Native American tribes gave distinctions to moons based on the time of year and the weather’s relationships to crop harvests and appearance of certain animals.
According to the American Farmers Almanac, August’s full Moon was traditionally called the Sturgeon Moon because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this part of summer.
Other names for the full moon of August describe the crops of this time of year. Corn Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe), Harvest Moon (Dakota), and Ricing Moon (Anishinaabe) sig-nify that this is the time to gather maturing crops. The Assiniboine people named this peri-od Black Cherries Moon, referring to when chokecherries become ripe.
Flying Up Moon is a Cree term describing the time when young birds are finally ready to take the leap and learn to fly. The Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest traditionally called this time of the season the Mountain Shadows Moon.
WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE FULL MOON OCCUR?
This month the full Moon will reach max illumination (99.9% illuminated) at roughly 19:10 on the 19th of August, this will be just before the Moon rises. The Moon will rise at roughly 20:35 in the East South East, will reach it’s highest point in the sky (aka transit) about 21 degrees high at around 01:23 in the South and will set in the West South West at roughly 06:19.
Remember that you don’t really need to know the exact time of peak illumination to enjoy viewing the full Moon, the Moon will appear full all throughout the night and on the nights surrounding the peak.
WHERE IN THE SKY CAN THE MOON BE FOUND?
Tonight, our natural satellite can be found be hitching a ride in the zodiacal constellation of Aquarius the water bearer. The moon can more specifically be located one degree below the faint star Iota Aquarii of Aquarius, around 5 degrees left of the star Deneb Algedi in Capricornus and around 15 degrees below the stars Sadalsuud and Sadalmelik of Aquarius.
LUNAR OBSERVATION
The great thing about observing the Moon is that we don’t have to go and find a particularly dark location to view it. As the Moon is such a bright object in the sky, we can watch it from wherever we are, even from the centre of a heavily light polluted city. Weather permitting of course.
MOON RISE/SET – MOON ILLUSION
It's always lovely to watch the moon rise/set, so if you can head out to witness the moon rise, please do. Every time the moon rises it takes on a beautiful golden, amber colour and appears larger at this time too, due to an optical illusion known as the ‘Moon illusion’. It's truly special to witness. As it rises and glides overhead it’s colour will transition into a bright white.
Sometimes the Moon can appear even more orangey red than usual too! The hue of the moon typically depends on atmospheric conditions wherever you’re viewing it from. Things like clouds, dust, haze, smoke or pollution can cause the moon to appear different colours by scattering much of the blue light shining on to our natural satellite, leaving it with a more reddish tone.
LUNAR / PLANETARY CONJUCTION TOMORROW EVENING
The Moon will also be paying a close visit to the amazing ringed planet Saturn tomorrow evening. The pair will appear separated by only 2.5 degrees and will make for a beautiful observational sight / photographic opportunity.
OTHER CELESTIAL TREATS
There are many other celestial treats in our night skies at this moment in time, here is a small selection of amazing sights to look out for:
- There are several meteor showers active at the moment including the Southern Delta Aquariids and the prolific Perseid meteor shower. Although the peak of the Perseid meteor shower was a week ago, there may still be chance that you will be able to see a late Perseid fireball blazing across the sky when out at night.
- The open star cluster the Pleaides (aka the Seven Sisters) can be found close by to the planets Mars and Jupiter.
- The summer Milky Way in all its glory can be seen stretching all the way across the sky from the North to North-east, straight above across the zenith, and from the South to South-West. The bright core of the Milky Way can be seen towards the South. The moonlight will make the Milky Way difficult to see whilst producing so much light, however it's certainly something to look out for at this time of year, especially when the moon is not brightening our skies.
- Our closest galactical neighbour, the amazing Andromeda Galaxy can be spotted to the eye as a small faint elliptical fuzzy in the constellation of Andromeda.
- The great globular cluster in Hercules can be seen to the eye as a small faint ball of light in the constellation of Hercules.
- We are now back into in the Aurora season! The Aurora may now be seen dancing on our Northern horizons on nights of strong auroral activity. Typically the bright Moon tends to wash the aurora out, however occasionally there are displays that are so strong they are visible despite the moonlight.
There are a few bright planets visible at the moment too…
- The ringed planet Saturn can be found fairly nearby to the Moon, located at around 18 degrees to the left of the Moon. Saturn will rise just after the Moon at around 21:00 in the East, reaching transit towards the South about 29 degrees high at around 02:23 and will disappear from view as the Sun rises at around 05:48.
- The gas giant Jupiter will be visible rising at around 23:50 in the North East. Jupiter will be easily visible shining brightly, climbing in the sky and travelling southwards until it fades from view in the morning twilight.
- The red planet Mars will also be visible fairly close by to Jupiter rising at roughly 23:56 in the North East. Just like Jupiter, Mars will climb in the sky travelling Southwards until it fades from view in the morning twilight.
CLOSING WORDS FROM ASTRO DOG
This Month’s full Super Blue Sturgeon Moon is quite a special occasion and there won’t be another super blue moon until 2037, so if you can, we recommend heading out to witness this very special full Moon!
We have attached one of our photographs of the blue moon 😉, a still showing the placement of the Moon and a size comparison of the Moon at apogee (micro moon) and perigee (super moon).
We wish you good luck if you head out to see this special Super Blue Moon folks. Please wrap up warm if you do. As always if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Clear skies 💖
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