The Super Blue Moon of August 2023 will be the biggest and brightest moon of the year.
The year 2023’s brightest and biggest supermoon will rise as a Blue Moon at the end of this month. The extremely rare celestial event – a true once in a blue moon occurrence – will light up the night sky on August 31.
A Blue Moon is when two full Moons are seen from Earth in the same calendar month.
A supermoon is when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth. Some people in the Middle East will get a chance to witness a combination of the two celestial spectacles that’s called a Super Blue Moon.
How rare is this? According to Nasa, a supermoon occurs approximately three to four times a year. “About 25 per cent of all full Moons are supermoons, but only 3 per cent of full Moons are Blue Moons,” Nasa says on its website.
So pretty rare! About once every 10 years, in fact. So generational.
The Blue Moon will rise on the night of Aug. 30. Look to the east just after sunset to find it; it won’t be difficult to spot given it will be the brightest and largest moon of the year.
This moon is notable for a few reasons: For one, not only is it a full moon, but it’s also a Blue Moon, which means it’s the third full moon in a season that has four full moons, according to NASA.
The Blue Moon is the second full moon this month after the Full Sturgeon Moon, which rose on Aug. 1 and led to some gorgeous astrophotography from around the world.
The Blue Moon of August 2023 will also be joined by a special guest in the sky: Saturn.
The ringed gas giant will be just a few days past opposition, the point at which it lies directly opposite the sun as seen from Earth, making it especially bright in the night sky.
As viewed from New York City, Saturn will be in the constellation Aquarius, above and to the right of the moon. From the Southern Hemisphere, however, Saturn will appear below the moon.
Blue Moons occur relatively frequently, astronomically speaking, happening once every two to three years. The last Blue Moon rose in August 2021, and the next is expected to rise in August 2024.
Sources: Space.com, Wikipedia
