Moonwatchers will be rewarded with a special blue moon this month.
A blue moon is usually defined as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, but the term can also refer to the second full moon in a month.
The night when the blue moon rises August 30, 9:35 PM EDTThe moon will be both a “blue moon” and a “supermoon,” according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Not only is it the Moon’s second full moon, but it also appears to be slightly larger because it is so close to Earth. and brighter than usual. On the same day, the Moon will pass close to Saturn.
Related: Blue Moon: What is it and when is it next?
Blue moons occur approximately every two and a half years. A “blue moon”, like a “supermoon,” isn’t really an astronomical term. A blue moon refers to either his second blue moon in a month (called a calendar blue moon) or his fourth full moon in a season (a seasonal blue moon). A season is the period between the summer solstice and the spring equinox (for example, the summer season begins on the summer solstice on June 21st and ends on the autumnal equinox on September 23rd). Usually 3 full moons are expected in a season, but sometimes he sees 4 full moons. In this case, there are still three full moons between June 21st and September 23rd, but August has his 31 days, so he has two full moons. In other words, this August blue moon is calendrical, not seasonal.
A full moon occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun, reaching that position about every 29.5 days. Technically, its celestial longitude is 180 degrees away from the Sun in the sky. The Moon’s orbit is tilted about 5 degrees from the Earth’s orbital plane, so even though the Moon is “behind” the Earth, it doesn’t enter the Earth’s shadow every time it circles the Earth. A lunar eclipse can be seen when it passes through the Earth’s shadow, but it won’t happen this time. The timing of lunar phases depends on the position of the moon relative to the earth, not its position on the earth, so it varies by time zone.
A supermoon, on the other hand, is when the full moon coincides with perigee, the point in the moon’s orbit that is closest to the Earth. At such times, the Moon appears slightly larger and therefore brighter, but usually goes unnoticed by casual observers. This happens because the moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle.The average distance to the moon is 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers), but this time the moon 221,942 miles (357,181 kilometers) away. We call this a supermoon, but in reality the moon can get close to it at any time. It is more pronounced when it coincides with the full moon.the moon reaches perigee 11:55 AM EDTAccording to NASA, it will appear about 7% larger than normal.
In New York City, the Moon in Aquarius will rise at 7:44 pm on August 30 and set at 6:47 am the following morning. Saturn can be seen to the upper right of the rising moon. The closest approach between the Moon and Saturn will occur at 2:07 p.m. Eastern time, according to the. In-the-Sky-org, so it is not visible from the Western Hemisphere. Observers in central Europe, however, are well-positioned to capture the moment of conjunction of the Moon and Saturn, which share the same celestial longitude, and their approach. For example, in Warsaw, the Moon and Saturn will rise at about 7:37 pm local time, and the conjunction will occur at 8:07 pm. At 9:43 PM local time, the Moon will pass within just over 2 degrees of Saturn, becoming the Moon. Appears directly below the planet.
Moving east, a conjunction occurs later in the evening, correspondingly higher in the sky for the Moon and Saturn. From Istanbul the Moon and Saturn will rise at about 7:35pm and the encounter will occur at 10:43pm. The Moon looks more directly below Saturn than it does in New York. In New Delhi, both the conjunction and the great approach occur after midnight. The closest approach was at 1:13 a.m. local time on August 31, about an hour after the Moon reached its highest point in the sky. The Moon will be just below Saturn and slightly to the left, about 44 degrees south.
In the Southern Hemisphere, conjunctions look different. From there, the sky appears “upside down”, so Saturn appears below the Moon. For example, in Melbourne, Australia, the great approach will occur at 5:43 am local time on August 31st, and it will be low in the western sky, with Saturn visible below the Moon to the right. Both are set by around 6:50 a.m. local time.
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visible planet
Jupiter rises on August 30, along with Saturn, which tracks the Moon closely (and spends the night within a few degrees of the Moon, even if not at conjunction). 10:16 p.m. local time in New York. In the constellation Aires, this planet is unique because it is brighter than other stars in that region of the sky.
Mars will be barely visible in the evening. On August 30th, sunset in New York is at 7:31 PM ET. Mars will sink just one hour later at 8:32 PM. If you are lucky and the sky is clear and the horizon is unobstructed, half an hour after sunset the planet is only 6 degrees above the horizon.
Venus becomes the “morning star”. Venus will rise at 4:33 a.m. eastern morning on August 31, and will be about 10 degrees high by 5:30 a.m. when the sky begins to brighten. Venus is so bright that it is clearly visible in the sky and among other stars, and in fact remains visible even after the stars begin to dim. Often it is the last celestial body (other than the Moon) that people can spot before sunrise.
sign
Most of the constellations visible at the end of August are still summer constellations. In mid-north latitudes, the Summer Triangle is still visible near the zenith by about 9 pm. Vega is the tallest of the three bright stars that mark it, and if one faces south, Deneb appears slightly closer to the horizon on the left, while Altair is farthest south. The Great Summer Triangle looks like a large right-angled triangle with Vega as its apex. The angle of 90 degrees and the hypotenuse connecting Deneb and Altair. Like the Big Dipper, a person can use it to find their way. The line between Vega and Altair always points nearly south in the northern hemisphere.
Scorpio and Sagittarius are visible to the south. The latter is almost sky-high. Antares is the bright reddish star at the center of Scorpio. Directly above Scorpio is a region of the sky containing a group of five stars that look like a tall, narrow box with a triangle on top, like an A-frame house. This is Ophiuchus, the body of the Snake Bearer. The constellations are even more difficult to see from urban areas. The star is relatively faint compared to Antares and the visible planets.
If you face west (left) and look toward the moon, you will see the autumn constellations rising. To the left of the moon is Pegasus, the legendary winged horse. Pegasus can be found by looking for a “great square” that appears to stand in a corner facing the eastern horizon. The star to the left of the plaza is Andromeda’s head, which, according to legend, was to be sacrificed to Leviathan (Cetacea, rising late at night). Andromeda consists of his two star curves that appear to be shaped like bananas.
If you keep turning north, you’ll see a star “W” to the upper left of Andromeda, which is Cassiopeia, Andromeda’s mother and queen, and to your left, you’ll run directly into Polaris, the North Star. Almost directly opposite Cassiopeia is the Big Dipper, part of the Ursa Major constellation. The Dipper is shown with the “bowl” facing up and to the right. If you’re in a dark sky location, you can also see Draco the Dragon, a string of stars winding between the Big Dipper and the Big Dipper (Ursa Minor, Ursa Minor).
From mid-south latitudes, Vega is almost due north at about 9:00 PM, and from Santiago, Chile, Cape Town, or Melbourne, it’s about 17 degrees above the horizon. Cygnus, the swan containing Deneb, is to the right (eastward), and Altair is about 45 degrees. Because the sky is inverted in the Southern Hemisphere, the Great Summer Triangle points away from the horizon. Following the line from Vega to Altair eastwards, passing the Moon and Saturn (Saturn is above the Moon), you can see Fomalhaut, the brightest star in the constellation Austrinus in Pisces to the south. Further to the right (now to the southeast), you can spot a fainter group of stars, Tsuru no Gurusu. A bird’s body, he is easiest to look for three vertical lines of stars. At about 20 to 23 degrees elevation in the southeast is Achernar, the brightest star of the Eridanus River, which originates near the foot of Orion in the northern hemisphere.
Turning due south toward the south celestial pole (there is no North Star equivalent), you will see a bright star to the right of the southwest. The Southern Cross is a sideways, small, bright group that also features the smallest of the 88 modern constellations. Above the core he has two bright stars, above which is the Rigil Centaur, also known as Alpha Centauri. Below that is Hadar, or Beta Centauri.
blue moon name
Indigenous peoples of North America had various associations and names for the moonlight and full moon in August. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the August full moon is sturgeon month, and fish are plentiful at that time of year. That said, the name of the Old Farmer’s Almanac derives from a combination of European traditions and Native Americans from areas colonized primarily by the British, French, and Dutch in the northeastern part of the continent. Masu.
This does not reflect the thinking of indigenous peoples across the Americas, as the traditions developed by indigenous peoples are highly dependent on the local environment and history. For example, in the Pacific Northwest, the Tlingit call his August (eighth month) Sha Ha Yi Dis. It means “fruit ripen in the mountains” and it means the ninth month (the new moon on August 30th falls in this month). be) is Dís Yádi, or the month of young animals. There were also differences in the Northeast. The Abenaki (according to the English fur trader William Pynchon’s 1645 account) were called the Lunation during July and August. Problem Lawaquesos This means “when the pumpkin is ripe” and the ninth full moon is michene queso or “when Indian corn can be eaten”
In England, the Anglo-Saxon name for the eighth full moon (which usually occurs in August). fruit moon. 8 lunar month according to Saint Bede (he writes in his book) temporary distribution, or “Calculation of Time” in 725 AD) that the “pagans” (the as yet un-Christianized people living in what is now the British Isles) called the eighth month in Old German Veodomonath, i.e. I’m noticing that you’re calling it “Plant Month”. The month of August represents Alanmanod, or “harvest month.”
September is spring in the Southern Hemisphere, with warmer days, and it’s no wonder that the Maori of New Zealand described the lunar month of August-September as Mahuru. “Earth now has more warmth than just vegetation and trees,” says Encyclopedia New Zealand.
Editor’s note: If you’ve got some great August 2023 Blue Moon photos you’d like to share with Space.com readers, please send your photos, comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.