Stargazers will soon enjoy a unique experience when they are able to see the super blue moon.
The moon will appear full for three days, from Sunday morning through Wednesday morning, reaching its peak at 1:26 p.m. on Monday. According to NASA.
Of course, people in Kansas won't be able to see the full moon at its peak.
What is a “supermoon”?
The next full moon will be a “supermoon,” meaning it will be larger and brighter than usual.
Supermoons occur about three to four times a year, according to NASA.
“This will be the first of four supermoons in a row this year (with the full moons in September and October being roughly tied for the closest of the year),” NASA's website states:
A supermoon occurs when the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit. This position is known as “perigee.”
At perigee, the Moon appears 14% larger and 30% brighter than when it is at its farthest point from Earth, called aphelion.
What is a “blue moon”?
The next full moon will not actually be blue. The term “blue moon” usually refers to occasions when two full moons occur in one month. The last time that happened was in August 2023.
But the term also refers to a “seasonal” blue moon, which is much rarer and occurs when four full moons occur between the annual solstice and equinox. The third of these seasonal blue moons is known as a blue moon.
This year's summer solstice was on June 20 and the autumnal equinox will occur on September 22. The other full moons this year occur between those dates on June 21, July 21 and September 17, according to Space.com.
The last seasonal blue moon was in August 2021 and the next will be in May 2027, according to earthsky.org website.
If the moon doesn't look blue, why is it called a “blue moon”?
The first recorded use of the term “blue moon” in English dates back to 1528, according to NASA website.
“Speculation about the origin of the term includes an Old English phrase meaning ‘traitor moon’ (because it led to errors in determining the dates of Lent and Easter),” the statement said. “Or it may be a comparison to rare events such as when dust in the atmosphere makes the moon appear actually blue.”
Why is this month's full moon called the “Sturgeon Moon”?
Many cultures have historically given unique names to the full moons that occur in specific months of the year.
“Sturgeon Moon” is one such nickname for the full moon in August, according to Farmers Calendar.
The moon earned this nickname because lake sturgeon, a freshwater fish that was once a staple of the diet of Native Americans and settlers in the Great Lakes and surrounding areas, became especially abundant and easy to catch in August, according to the Agricultural Almanac.
“Today, sturgeon are much rarer than in past centuries, but their association with the ‘sturgeon moon’ remains,” the statement said.
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