On the night of August 19-20, a huge “sturgeon” moon rose in the sky. The inhabitants of the Earth could observe a rare phenomenon when the full moon coincided with the blue moon, Tengri Life reports.
August continues to be a spectacular month for skywatchers. Fresh off the peak of the Perseid meteor shower last week, the first of four consecutive supermoons of the year began on August 19. The rare cosmic combination of a supermoon and a blue moon peaked on Monday night.
The last time this lunar event occurred was in August 2023, and the next blue supermoons are predicted for January and March 2037. About a quarter of all full moons are supermoons, while only 3 percent of full moons are blue moons.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point known as perigee. This happens about three to four times a year, NASA said. CNN.
At its closest point, the full moon can appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than the dimmest moon of the year, which appears when it is farthest from Earth in its orbit.
The full supermoon will be visible in the sky for three days.
Supermoons are visible to the naked eye and do not require a specific location to view them. Throughout the night, the moon will rise higher and higher until sunrise approaches.
The combination of a full moon, supermoon and blue moon on Monday night is a fairly “irregular” occurrence, according to NASA.
Last year, the supermoon was observed on the night of August 2-3.
