August 19, 2024
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Watch the blue supermoon rise tonight
August’s supermoon will be the first of four consecutive supermoons
On August 30, 2023, a supermoon, also known as a “blue moon,” will rise over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The next full moon will officially be 100% illuminated at 2:26 PM EDT (18:26 GMT) on Monday, August 19, 2024. However, this won’t be a regular full moon, it’ll be a supermoon blue moon. The exact time of moonrise will depend on where you are.
Sounds pretty amazing, but what does it all mean? Let’s take a look at what makes a “supermoon” and a “blue moon” (and, of course, what makes a blue moon, which is two supermoons in one).
you can Watch the Supermoon and Blue Moon rise today It will be streamed live for free on Space.com, courtesy of astronomer Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project.
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To find out what time the moon rises and sets in your area, check out Time and Date’s moonrise calculator.
The term “supermoon” was first coined by astrologer Richard Knoll in 1979, and according to NASA, it means “a new or full moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth.” A supermoon is the biggest and brightest full moon of the year, appearing about 30% brighter and 14% larger than normal. While this may sound like a big difference, it’s pretty hard to spot the difference with the naked eye unless you’re an experienced lunar observer.
But in some cases, a supermoon (or even a “regular” full moon) can appear enormous. But most of the time, this has nothing to do with astronomy and everything to do with how the human brain works. This is known as the “moon illusion.” The moon illusion is a trick of perception where the moon appears much larger near the horizon than when it’s high in the sky.
This illusion is caused by the way our brain interprets distance and size. When the Moon is near the horizon, we see it along with trees, buildings, and other objects. Our brains compare the Moon to these nearby objects, making it appear larger, because that gives us a sense of scale. When the Moon is high in the sky, it appears smaller because there’s nothing to compare it to. Photographers sometimes use this effect to get amazing photos in which the Moon appears very large behind distant objects.
August’s supermoon will be the first of four this year, with the others occurring on September 17, October 17, and November 15. The closest supermoon will be October’s Hunter’s Moon, which will rise at 7:26 a.m. ET (11:26 a.m. EST) on October 17.
Is the moon really blue in August?
Unfortunately not. There are two types of “blue moon,” neither of which has anything to do with color. A seasonal blue moon refers to the third full moon in a season with four full moons. This is the traditional definition of a blue moon, and it’s the type that rises on August 19th.
The second type of blue moon arose from a misunderstanding of the original definition and simply refers to the second full moon in a calendar month. Today, this monthly concept of a “blue moon” is accepted as a different definition, not an error, according to Time and Date.
When can you see the supermoon “Blue Moon”?
The Full Moon will officially rise on Monday, August 19, 2024 at 2:26 pm EDT (18:26 GMT), but it will appear nearly full on the nights surrounding August 19.
If you’re inspired by the photos featured in this article and want to use August’s Blue Supermoon as a good excuse to get outside and get your camera out, you might find our comprehensive guide on how to photograph the Supermoon useful. If you’re looking to explore our rocky companion in more detail, our Lunar Observation Guide will help you identify key targets on the Moon, and our Apollo Site Observation Guide will help you see where humans, rovers and landers have set foot on another world.
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