Supermoon and Saturn will light up the night sky in August
This week, a second super moon will appear in the night sky, bringing an end to August the same way it started. Additionally, the ringed planet Saturn will pass by the moon at its closest and brightest distance of the year. At 9:36 p.m., the full moon will be at its fullest.
According to NASA, the moon will be fully visible until Friday morning ET on August 30.
On Wednesday, at the tail end of dusk, at 8:42 p.m. ET, the moon will be about 5 degrees to the upper right of Saturn’s bright glow. According to NASA, Saturn will appear to circle the moon clockwise throughout the night. According to EarthSky, when they are together, the two will appear to be separated by about four full moons.
On August 27, when Earth moved in front of the sun, Saturn reached opposition, meaning the ringed planet was at its closest point in its orbit to our planet and was thus visible in the night sky.
According to EarthSky, both of the August full moons qualify as supermoons. Supermoons are defined differently depending on where you live, but in general, they refer to a full moon that is closer to Earth than usual, making it appear bigger and brighter in the night sky. The moon will be nearly 18,000 miles (28,968 kilometers) closer to Earth than usual at 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) away.
Some astronomers claim that the event takes place when the moon is 90% of its perigee or closest point in orbit to Earth.
Also Read: Pragyaan, India’s lunar rover, takes a stroll on the Moon.
The supermoon may affect Hurricane Idalia, which is anticipated to make landfall Wednesday morning, by raising tides and worsening storm surge. Due to this supermoon’s proximity to Earth, the oceans will be more significantly affected by its gravitational pull.
Jamie Rhome, Deputy Director of the National Hurricane Center, said it could raise high tide by about a foot.
According to NASA, the second full moon in a month is also called a blue moon, just like the expression “once in a blue moon.”. Don’t, however, anticipate it to turn blue.
The months and moon phases don’t always coincide because full moons usually happen every 29 days and the majority of the months in our calendar have 30 or 31 days. The last blue moon occurred in August 2021, and as a result, they happen every 2.5 years on average.
The Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, which honors sibling relationships, coincides with August’s second full moon.
Full moons and supermoons
On September 29, 2023, the fourth and last supermoon of the year will rise.
The Farmer’s Almanac lists the following full moons as still occurring in 2023
- Harvest Moon on September 29.
- Hunter’s moon occurs on October 28.
- Beaver moon on November 27.
- 26th of December: Cold moon.
Lunar and solar eclipses
An annular solar eclipse will be visible in North, Central, and South America. The moon will be at or very close to its furthest point from Earth when it passes in front of the sun during the solar eclipse. A glowing halo will surround the moon, which will appear to be smaller than the sun.
Wearing eclipse glasses will protect viewers’ eyes from injury while they observe the phenomenon.
Moreover, on October 28, there will be a partial lunar eclipse. Due to the imperfect alignment of the sun, Earth, and moon, only a portion of the moon will be completely in shadow. Europe, Asia, Australia, parts of North America, and most of South Africa will be able to see this partial eclipse.
Meteor showers
In areas without light pollution, the best viewing times for each of the remaining meteor showers expected to peak this year are from late at night until dawn.
The busiest times for the events are listed below:.
- 20-21st of October: Orionids.
- Taurids in the South: November 4–5.
- Northern Taurids: 11–12 November.
- 17–18 November: Leonids.
- Geminids: 12/13–12/14.
- Dec.21–22 is Ursids.
