It’s been a big month for astronomers and sky-gazers, who are probably over the moon.
Shortly after we experienced the Perseid meteor shower last week, the first of the year’s four consecutive supermoons is set to rise today, August 19.
The rare cosmic combination of a full supermoon and blue moon peaks at 2:26 p.m. ET Monday and will light up the night sky until Tuesday morning.
Those interested in viewing this spectacle can see it from anywhere in the world, so there’s no need to go somewhere special to see the lunar show.
What is a super blue moon?
A super blue moon occurs when the different cycles of blue and supermoons happen to align on the calendar, according to NASA’s Noah Petro, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project scientist. Petro is the lab chief of NASA’s Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry lab.
Approximately one-quarter of all full moons are supermoons, while a mere 3% of full moons are blue moons, according to NASA. So, it’s a rare sighting to witness them overlapping.
When will a super blue moon happen again?
It probably won’t happen again for years.
The last time this type of lunar event occurred was August 2023, and the next super blue moon is projected to happen in January and March of 2037, according to NASA.
What is a supermoon?
“Supermoons only happen three to four times a year, and always appear consecutively. Throughout most of Earth’s orbit around the sun, perigee and the full moon do not overlap,” NASA writes.
There are varied definitions for supermoons,” said Petro. “However, a full moon within 90% of perigee is often described as a supermoon.”
The moon travels around Earth in an orbit that is not quite circular, so there is a single point in its orbit that is closest to Earth and a point that is furthest away in an oval-like shape, as reported by The Guardian.
When the moon is closest to Earth, it can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than when it’s at its farthest point from the planet, known as apogee, about 251,000 miles (405,500 kilometers) from Earth.
The moon normally sits about 384,000km from Earth but will be 23,000km closer on Monday night – almost double Earth’s diameter.
What is a blue moon?
A blue moon happens every two to three years, when there are two full moons within a single calendar month or four full moons within a season, The Guardian reports.
“However, the moon won’t appear blue. In fact, it will appear more red or yellow at dusk thanks to the light refracting around the atmosphere at the horizon.”