Be on guard for werewolves twice next month, for August will have a blue moon — or two full moons — a rare occurrence that only happens every two and a half years.
This is because the moon will complete its cycle every 354 days, leaving ten days in the calendar year, eventually causing two full moons in one month.
Stargazers can expect to first see the “Sturgeon Moon” on August 1 as it reaches its peak illumination at 2:32 p.m., according to the Farmer’s Almanac. The moon was named after the fish because fishermen had an easier time catching them at this point of the summer in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
The Sturgeon moon also goes by the grain moon, corn moon, lynx moon, and lightning moon, Forbes reports.
Catherine Boeckmann of the Farmer’s Almanac reported that not only is August 1 a Sturgeon moon, but it is also the second supermoon part of a four-supermoon sequence:
“Supermoon” is a catchy term for what astronomers call “a perigean full Moon” which is when the full Moon happens at (or very near) the exact time when the Moon is closest to us in its orbit.
A supermoon exceeds the disk size of an average-sized Moon by up to 8% and the brightness of an average-sized full Moon by some 16%. You may not perceive the difference in size, but a super moon will appear brighter in the sky.
At the end of the month, stargazers will see their second full supermoon on August 30-31. This moon will be the closest it will be to Earth until November 5, 2025, being only 221,817 miles away.
Blue moons are a dime a dozen when compared to the occurrence of a super blue moon. The last super blue moon reported was in December 2009, and the next super blue moon will not be until August 2023 — nine years from now.
