Rare Blue Moon Set to Rise Over the US Today — Here’s How to Spot This Celestial Wonder

A rare supermoon will light up the sky on Monday, appearing bigger and brighter than any other moon type we’ve seen this year.

The Sturgeon Moon reaches its peak at 2:26 p.m. ET and remains full through Wednesday morning.

The name is derived from the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, which are easy to catch in the summer.

The celestial wonder also heralds a series of four consecutive supermoons this year.

The supermoon Sturgeon will light up the night sky on August 19, followed by three more supermoons in the months that follow.

“This full moon is the third of four we will see this season. Such a full moon is often called a Blue Moon, but of course that has nothing to do with the actual color of our satellite,” said astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.

‘The last time there was such a seasonal blue moon was in 2021 and it will happen again in 2027.’

The term “supermoon” was coined in 1979 by astrologer Richard Nolle. The term refers to a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is 90 percent of its closest to Earth.

The moon is normally 240,000 miles (384,700 kilometers) away from Earth, but on Monday the moon will be 223,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away.

And because the moon is so close, it appears 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.

The sun sets around 7:30 p.m. ET, allowing the moon to shine brightly in the night sky.

In the evening after sunset, look to the southeast to see the rising Sturgeon Moon.

On the East Coast, the supermoon will rise in the east-southeast, peaking about a third of the way up the sky. It will set in the west-southwest around 7:00 a.m.

An optical illusion makes supermoons appear largest and brightest when they are close to the horizon.

If you live in the city, it’s best to look for a dark sky, as light pollution can reduce the brightness of the moon.

To view the moon’s details up close, such as craters, bring binoculars and a telescope.

While Native Americans commonly call the August supermoon the “Sturgeon Moon,” it has also been nicknamed “Corn Moon,” “Rice Moon,” and “Black Cherry Moon.”

The Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest traditionally called this time of year the “Mountain Shadows Moon.”

According to Starwalk, the Anglo-Saxons also called it the ‘Grain Moon’.

But if you miss this month’s supermoon, there are three more in the coming months: on September 18, October 17, and November 15.

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