Stargazers will be treated to a very special double feature next month, with a pair of supermoons appearing in August – closing off with a rare blue moon.
The first, called Sturgeon, should be able to be seen from the UK on Tuesday 1 August with its peak at 7.31pm (BST) and just 222,159 miles (357,530km) away. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the August full moon is traditionally known as the Sturgeon moon because of the abundance of that fish in the Great Lakes in August hundreds of years ago.
On Thursday 31 August, the moon will be even closer – a mere 222,043 miles (357,344km), with its peak at 2.35am (BST). And because it is the second full moon in a month it is commonly called a blue moon, although traditionally the term referred to the third full moon in an astronomical season of four.
For comparison, at its furthest point from the Earth, the moon is about 252,088 miles (405,696km) away.
The last time two full supermoons appeared in the same month was in 2018 – and it will not happen again until 2037, according to the Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, the founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.
Luckily it should be relatively easy to see the cosmic display if the skies are clear.
The Royal Observatory in Greenwich states: “So long as there’s not too much cloud, the full moon will be an unmistakable white orb in the sky. This is a good opportunity to use a small telescope or a pair of binoculars to see the moon’s detailed surface, or even try taking a few interesting moon photos.
“However, you can see the moon perfectly well with just your eyes. Seeing moonrise just after sunset, or moonset just before sunrise, will be an impressive sight as it will appear enormous compared to the surrounding landscape.”
According to the observatory, a supermoon appears up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter compared with the satellite at its farthest away.
The word supermoon was coined by the astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. Nolle’s definition states that if the moon is within 10% of its closest distance at the moment of full moon, it is considered a supermoon.
Masi will provide a live webcast of Tuesday evening’s supermoon, as it rises over the Coliseum in Rome.
“The supermoon offers us a great opportunity to look up and discover the sky,” Masi told Reuters.“My plans are to capture the beauty of this … hopefully bringing the emotion of the show to our viewers.”
