Super Blue Moon 2023: Biggest Supermoon Of The Year, And Second This Month, To Rise On Aug 31. All About It
Super Blue Moon 2023: The Super Blue Moon to occur on August 31, 2023, is the biggest supermoon of the year, the second this month, and the last Super Blue Moon till 2037.
Super Blue Moon 2023: The biggest supermoon of the year, and the second this August, is set to illuminate the night sky on August 31, 2023. Since it will be a supermoon, and also the second full Moon to occur in the same month, it is known as a Super Blue Moon. This Super Blue Moon is also the third supermoon of 2023. Another reason which makes the Super Blue Moon of August 2023 special is that this is the last Super Blue Moon till 2037.
The Super Blue Moon this year will appear opposite the Sun in the Earth-based longitude at 9:36 pm EDT on August 30 (7:06 am IST on August 31), according to NASA. Saturn, which will be at its closest to the Earth and brightest for the year in a few days, will appear near the Super Blue Moon.
After 8:42 pm EDT on August 30 (6:12 am IST on August 31), Saturn will be five degrees to the upper right of the Moon. The gas giant will also appear to swing clockwise around the Moon throughout the evening of August 31. Not only will the Moon appear full on August 31, but also a day before its peak, and a day after, implying that people can witness the rare phenomenon in the night skies on the evenings of August 30 and September 2, too.
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Super Blue Moon 2023: Why the Blue Moon is also a supermoon
The Blue Moon is a supermoon because its entire sunlit side will be in line with the Sun and the Earth, or, in other words, the full Moon will appear opposite the Sun in the Earth-based longitude.
The Moon revolves around the Earth, and during this revolution, it reaches a point in its orbit where it is closest to the Earth. This point is called the perigee, and is about 3,63,300 kilometres from Earth. When a Moon is at its perigee at the same time as it is full, Earth witnesses a slightly brighter and larger version of its only natural satellite. Such a Moon, which is up to seven per cent larger than an average full Moon, is known as a supermoon.
The Super Blue Moon of August 2023 is also known as the Sturgeon Moon because long ago, at this time of the year, sturgeon fish, which are North America's largest fish, used to be abundant in the Great Lakes.
Super Blue Moon 2023: Why is the second supermoon of August 2023 called a Super Blue Moon?
According to a definition introduced by Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946, the second full Moon occurring in a particular month is known as a Blue Moon. Since the second full Moon of August 2023 is also a supermoon, it has been classified as a Super Blue Moon.
In the 1500s, there was a different definition of a Blue Moon. At that time, the third full Moon in a particular astronomical season, that had four full Moons, was known as a Blue Moon.
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Super Blue Moon 2023: Will the Super Blue Moon of August 2023 appear blue in colour?
The only reason why the supermoon occurring on August 31 is known as a Super Blue Moon is that it is rare to have two full Moons in a single month, and the phrase "once in a blue moon" is used to refer to unusual events.
Only one full Moon occurs in most months because a lunar cycle, which extends from a full Moon to a new Moon, and back to full, lasts 29.5 days.
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Super Blue Moon 2023: Interesting astronomical phenomena that can be seen with the Super Blue Moon
In the evening of August 31, the Super Blue Moon will be beautified by the presence of Saturn, Mars, and Vega close to it.
Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, will appear above the Moon. Vega, Deneb, and Altair are the three bright stars in the Summer Triangle. Vega is also the fifth brightest star in Earth's night sky, is located 25 light-years from the planet, shines 40 times brighter than the Sun, and has a mass twice that of the solar system's host star.
The Super Blue Moon will reach its highest point in the sky at 10:53 am on August 31.
On the morning of September 1, the day after the peak of the Super Blue Moon, one can also spot bright Jupiter and Venus. Jupiter will be the bright object closest to the Moon. Bright star Capella can also be seen.
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Super Blue Moon 2023: When will the next full Moon, supermoon, Blue Moon, and Super Blue Moon occur?
The next full Moon this year will occur on September 29.
The Super Blue Moon of August 2023 is the last Super Full Moon this year. The next Super Full Moon will occur on September 18, 2024.
Blue Moon's usually occur once every two to three years.
While a monthly Blue Moon refers to the second full Moon in a month that has two full Moons, a seasonal Blue Moon refers to the third full Moon in an astronomical season that has four full Moons.
According to timeanddate.com, the next seasonal Blue Moon (third full Moon in an astronomical season) will occur on August 19 or 20, 2024.
After this, the next Blue Moon will occur on May 31, 2026, and December 31, 2028.
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Super Blue Moon 2023: What is a Double Blue Moon?
As though the occurrence of two supermoons in the same month was not rare enough, there is a phenomenon in which January and March have a Blue Moon each, and February has no Full Moon. This extremely rare phenomenon, known as a Double Blue Moon, occurs only about three to five times a century.
The last Double Blue Moon was seen in 2018.
The next Double Blue Moon will occur in 2037. This will also be the next Super Blue Moon to occur after the Super Blue Moon of August 31.
Super Blue Moon 2023: Festivals the Super Blue Moon aligns with
Several festivals correspond with the Super Blue Moon. The Super Blue Moon of August 2023 is also known as Rakhi Purnima because it occurs around the time of Raksha Bandhan. Some people follow lunar calendars, and in these, the full Moons fall sometime around the middle of the lunar months.
For instance, this year’s Super Blue Moon is occurring in the middle of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, in the middle of the Safar month in the Islamic calendar, and in the middle of the Elul month in the Hebrew calendar.
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