Monday’s Supermoon In The Sky Will Be A Blue Moon

ANALYSIS – It should be very cool. Worth looking for it. August is set to see the first of four consecutive supermoons — a bigger and brighter full moon occurring during its closest approach to Earth. 

It will also be a Blue Moon.

Super blue moons are rare. They can come as much as 20 years apart − but in general, 10 years is the average.

Space.com reports:

The next full moon will occur at 2:26 p.m. EDT (1826 GMT) on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. But it won’t be just any old full moon, it will be a Supermoon Blue Moon! 

Sounds pretty cool, but what exactly does that mean? Let’s take a look at what makes a “supermoon” and a “Blue Moon” (and what makes a two-in-one Supermoon Blue Moon, of course).

According to NASA, the term “supermoon” was first coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as “either a new or full moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth.”

The scientific term for the phenomenon is “perigee Moon.”

Noah Petro, project scientist for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, explains in Space.com:

The supermoon is the closest, largest full moon of the calendar year. It’s a real treat to see the Moon uniquely. Because the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle, it gets farther away over the year when it’s farthest away, it’s known as “apogee,” and when it’s closest, it’s known as “perigee,’ so over the weekend we’re going to have a perigee full moon, the closest full Moon of the year.

“Because it’s close, it’s going to appear about 14% larger, about 30% brighter than the smallest full moon of the year,” Petrov added.

A supermoon isn’t larger but can appear huge at times. Other times the difference can barely be perceptible.

Usually, when a supermoon appears huge, it has nothing to do with astronomy and everything to do with our brain.  The “moon illusion” is a trick of perception where the moon looks much larger near the horizon than it looks high in the sky.

This illusion occurs because when the moon is near the horizon, we see it alongside trees, buildings and other close-in objects, giving us a sense of scale. Our brain compares the moon to these nearby objects, making it appear larger. When the moon is higher in the sky, there’s nothing to compare it to, so it looks smaller.

Still, it’s a neat illusion.

“Unless you have looked at a lot of full moons or compared them in images, it is hard to notice the difference, but people should try,” said Petro.

There are also two types of “Blue Moon,” including the one on August 19. Sadly, despite the name, neither are actually blue in color.

Space.com notes:

A seasonal Blue Moon refers to the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. This is the traditional definition of a Blue Moon and the type we will see rise on Aug. 19. 

According to NASA, the Super Blue Moon will actually appear full for three days, from Sunday morning the 18^th through early Wednesday the 21^st.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.