August blue super moon is the first of four lunar spectacles
Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP) – Monday’s supermoon is the first of four this year.
During a supermoon, the full moon comes a little closer to Earth than usual. A supermoon isn’t huge, but it can appear that way in the night sky, although scientists say the difference is barely noticeable.
September’s Supermoon will be accompanied by a partial lunar eclipse. October will be the closest approach to the year, and November will mark the end of the year.
A more popular term than a scientific term, a supermoon occurs when the full phase of the Moon coincides with a particularly close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and continuously, given the moon’s ever-changing, elliptical orbit.
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When the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit, it appears 14% larger and 30% brighter than when it is at its furthest point from the planet, called apogee. About 251,000 miles (405,500 km) from
While this perceived increase in size may be subtle, NASA describes a supermoon as significantly brighter than other full moons throughout the year. The difference can be hard to see, but a supermoon significantly affects Earth, causing higher-than-normal tides due to its proximity.
Supermoon exposure
A supermoon can be seen with the naked eye and does not require a special viewing location. Throughout the night, the moon will be high before sunrise.
“If the sky is clear and you have clear vision, you should be able to see the moon,” said Shannon Schmoll, director of Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium.
“It’s bright enough that you don’t have to go anywhere special,” and is visible shortly after sunset, he said.
The joy of these full moons is that if cloud coverage obscures visibility, you can see any night before or after the full moon peaks, Pietro said.
“So there are really three days where the full moon is going to be the most beautiful,” he said.
“The thing about these supermoons is that they’re so close, they’re also bright.” He noted that if it’s a clear night, you might notice a change in brightness outside. “You will be treated to this beautiful view of the sky, with our moon hovering in the distance.”
Because supermoons are 30 percent brighter than the average full moon, they can be easily detected.
“It’s going to be a little brighter, and it’s always a good excuse to go outside and appreciate the universe, and our place in it, and what we can see from Earth,” Schmoll said.
What are blue moons and sturgeon moons?
NASA’s Gordon Johnston wrote that despite the 1528 name, the moon would not be blue.
“The moon only appears to change color during an eclipse,” Petro said.
As with supermoons, there are different definitions for a blue moon – monthly and seasonal.
“On average, we have one full moon every month, but since most of our months are a little longer than the lunar cycle, that means if we have a full moon at the beginning of a month,” Schmoll explained. end with, then we can have a full moon again at the very end of the month. So it’s sometimes called a blue moon.”
A seasonal blue moon is often defined as the third full moon of an astronomical season that consists of four full moons.
“If you take a season, a season is about three months. So at that point, you usually have three full moons in one season, and if you end up with four in one season. , so the third of the four will be a blue moon, and that’s what this blue moon is,” Schmoll said.
Supermoons for the remainder of the year
The remaining supermoons of 2024 will occur on September 18, October 17 and November 15.
September’s supermoon will also be a partial lunar eclipse, meaning the Earth will cast its shadow over part of the moon, Pietro said. “It’s a partial one, so it won’t be as obvious to viewers,” he said.
The full, largest moon of the year will rise in October. “The moon will actually be about 100 kilometers (62 miles) closer to Earth on October 17,” Petro said.
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