August Will Have TWO Full Supermoons And Here is When to See Them Over Indiana and Kentucky
Not only does the month of August have two full moons this year, but they are also supermoons.
Once in a Blue Moon
We've all heard the phrase "once in a Blue Moon" to describe something we don't do often, but what exactly is a Blue Moon? According to Almanac, there are two different types of Blue Moons, the Seasonal Blue Moon, and the Calendrical Blue Moon. The Seasonal Blue Moon is the extra full moon that occurs during a season. The Calendrical Blye Moon is the second full moon during a month, in this case, the last full moon during the month of August 2023 is a Blue Moon.
The Full Sturgeon Supermoon
The first full moon we can see this August is the Full Sturgeon Supermoon. This moon gets its name after the fish, as this is the time of year sturgeon are more frequently caught.
The Farmer's Almanac explains:
August’s full Moon was traditionally called the Sturgeon Moon because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this part of summer.
You can catch the Full Sturgeon Supermoon on Tuesday, August 1st, and the moon will reach peak illumination at 2:32 PM.
The Blue Moon is the Biggest Supermoon of 2023
Not only is August special this year because it is the month that has TWO full moons, both moons are also Supermoons. So what is a Supermoon? Well a Supermoon is when the moon is closer to us in orbit, and it will appear bigger and brighter in the night sky than a regular full moon.
The Blue Supermoon will be the biggest of the year. Per the Farmer's Almanac.
August 30-31 supermoon will be the closest, biggest, and brightest full supermoon of 2023. It’s exceptionally close in Moon miles from Earth (222,043 miles). The next time we’ll have a closer full supermoon is November 5, 2025, when the moon lies 221,817 miles from Earth.
You can catch the Blue Supermoon on August 30th and the moon will reach peak illumination at 9:36 PM. The Farmer's Almanac has a ton of really interesting information about these moons, you can read more, here.