Full Sturgeon Moon and Blue Supermoon: Celestial Events To Watch For in August 2023

Out of the four supermoon events in 2023, two of them will take place in August. This means the moon will be extra big and bright for the sky watchers to enjoy.

Full Sturgeon Moon

The first full moon in August will occur on the afternoon of August 1, reaching peak illumination at 2:32 PM Eastern Time. As the evening comes, the Sturgeon Moon rising on the horizon can be seen in the southeast after sunset. The August 1 supermoon is the second supermoon of the unusual sequence this year.

A supermoon refers to a lunar event when the Moon is full and, at the same time, its orbit is closest to Earth, also known as perigee. Since it exceeds the average size of a regular Moon by 8%, it looks brighter than the average full moon by 16%. Most people may not perceive the difference in size, but a supermoon appears more brilliant in the sky.

The Sturgeon Moon got its name from the Old Farmer's Almanac list obtained from European, Native American, and Colonial American sources. In this list, the name of each full moon was applied to the entire lunar month in which the event occurred.

Sturgeon refers to a prehistoric-looking fish species from around 136 million years ago. Traditionally, August's full moon was called Sturgeon Moon because this part of summer is when the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily hunted and caught.

Aside from Sturgeon Moon, other alternative moon names are assigned in August. These include the Flying Up Moon, Corn Moon, Rising Moon, Harvest Moon, Black Cherries Moon, and Mountain Shadows Moon.

Rare Blue Supermoon

Later in August, a second full moon, known as a blue moon, will appear in the night sky. On August 30, the full moon will peak at 9:36 PM Eastern Time.

A blue moon is a celestial event when two full moons happen monthly. While it describes the moon's orbit around Earth, a blue moon has something to do with frequency. It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to revolve around the Earth. However, because of how the Sun's light hits our neighbor, it takes 29.5 days for the Moon to complete its lunar cycle from one new moon to the next.

The phrase "once in a blue moon" has been popularized to describe a rare but recurring event. Contrary to popular belief, blue moons are not rare. According to NASA, blue moons can happen relatively frequently in astronomical terms, once every two to three years.

The end of August supermoon is the closest, brightest, and biggest full supermoon of the year. This is because the Moon will be exceptionally close to our planet at 222,043 miles, almost 17,000 miles closer than its average distance. The next time a closer full supermoon will occur will be November 5, 2025, when the Mon will lie 221,817 miles from the Earth.