Super blue moon in Australia: phenomenon that appears in our sky once every ten years
- A ‘super blue moon’ will be visible in August
- The next one is six years from now
Australians will be able to see an incredibly rare super blue moon later this month that occurs on average once every ten years.
The phenomenon is called a “super blue moon” because it will be a blue moon in conjunction with a super moon, both of which are quite rare individually.
All Aussies should be able to catch a glimpse of the spectacular sight on August 31, provided the sky is clear of clouds, and the next one won’t happen until 2029.
A supermoon will rise over Sydney in April 2021, which happens when the moon is in the closest point of its orbit, called perigee
A blue moon does not refer to its color, but the term usually refers to the second full moon in a month.
Each month usually has only one full moon cycle, but occasionally there is a full moon at the beginning and another at the end of a month.
A lesser known usage is to refer to an extra full moon in a season which will usually have three, but occasionally there will be four.
This was the traditional use of the term, as each of the year’s 12 full moons was given names according to its respective season, with the extra moon being called “blue” so that the other moons kept their names.
A supermoon, on the other hand, refers to a full moon when the satellite is at the closest point of its elliptically shaped orbit around the Earth.
According to NASA, a supermoon can appear 12 to 14 percent larger at its closest orbit than a full moon at its farthest point and about 7 percent larger than an average full moon.
On August 31 this year, Australia will be able to see a blue moon that is also a supermoon.
A ‘supermoon’ imaged over Sydney in June 2022, this month the supermoon will also be a blue moon
These terms are not scientific names in astronomy, but are commonly used.
A blue moon has also been used to describe the moon when its color has a literal blue hue, which can happen after volcanic eruptions and large wildfires.
Stargazers will have an interesting few months ahead with the Perseid meteor shower also taking place in August.
This will happen when Earth passes through the tail of comet Swift-Tuttle, which can show up to a hundred shooting stars per hour at its peak, which will be around 5 a.m. on August 14.
October 22 will also see the Orionid meteor shower, which occurs when Earth crosses the tail of Comet Halley.
A week later, on October 29, a partial lunar eclipse should be visible from Sydney, giving the moon an orange hue.