Blue Supermoon To Kick Off Season of Lunar Splendor

Thought Question: If you could name a full moon based on something special or important to you, what would you call it and why?

If you chance a glance into the sky tonight, you may notice the moon looking a bit larger and brighter than you’re used to. That’s because you’re standing under a rare “blue supermoon.” It's the first of four supermoons you’ll be able to see in upcoming months. 

To break down what makes Monday night’s moon so special requires knowledge of two key concepts: blue moons and perigee. A “blue” moon doesn’t refer to the moon suddenly turning teal. Rather, it means either that the moon will be full for the second time in a month, or that it’s the third full moon in a season that will have four of them. Tonight’s blue moon is the latter. Astronomy buffs might recall another blue supermoon rising last August. That event was of the two-in-a-month sort. Both are rare. Tonight’s moon won’t be repeated until January 2037. 

The “super” part of a supermoon refers to its apparent size and brightness. The moon’s path around our planet mimics a gentle wave as much as it does a circle. The lunar sphere draws closer and then pulls away even as it revolves around us. At its closest point, or perigee, it achieves supermoon status. It can then seem up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than it does at apogee, its farthest point from Earth.

Tonight’s moon has a special name: the “Sturgeon Moon.” Legend has it that it earned the nickname thanks to the light it leant to Indigenous peoples as they fished the Great Lakes for sturgeon, a massive freshwater fish. Upcoming supermoons are similarly named. Here’s when you can expect to glimpse them, according to Earthsky.org:

Sturgeon Moon: August 19 

Harvest Moon: September 17  

Hunter's Moon: October 17 

Beaver Moon: November 15