{"id":48775,"date":"2023-08-29T06:33:48","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T06:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ab823bc3-8c58-4422-bd23-cc01ff4f5d52"},"modified":"2023-08-30T10:33:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T10:33:49","slug":"how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"How to see tonight’s Super Blue Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a ‘Blue Moon’, when can we see it in 2023, and is it really worth the hype? <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 29 August 2023 at 06:33 AM<\/p>

\n\n

How to see tonight’s Super Blue Moon<\/h1>
The full Moon on 30\/31 August 2023 will shine big and bright, and is what’s known by some as a ‘super blue Moon’.<\/p>
But how much bigger will this week’s ‘Super Blue Moon’ be compared to an average full Moon<\/a>, and are blue Moons<\/a> really worth the hype?<\/p>
We can get a better understanding of what we really mean by a ‘blue Moon’ in August by considering how the Moon appears in our sky over the rest of the month.<\/p>
\n
How to observe the Moon with the naked eye or telescope<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul> August’s blue Moon explained<\/strong><\/h2>\nComparison between the perigee (closest) and apogee (farthest) Moons. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The Moon reached perigee on 2 August at 06:52 BST (05:52 UT). Lunar perigee is the point at which the Moon’s elliptical orbit brings it closest to Earth.<\/p>
The full Moon at the start of the month occurred on 1 August at 19:31 BST (18:31 UT), 11 hours and 21 minutes before perigee, making this a perigee full Moon, also known as a proxigean Moon or a supermoon<\/a>.<\/p>
A perigee full Moon or supermoon is 14% larger and 25% brighter than an apogee full Moon, although the differences aren\u2019t obvious to the naked eye<\/p>
In practice, a supermoon won’t look much different to the ones that precede or follow it.<\/p>\n
$\"The$
The Sturgeon Super Moon Above The Walls of Cefal\u00e0 Diana Castle, Sicily, captured by Dario Giannobile, 1 August 2023. Equipment: Canon EOS 7D DSLR camera, Sigma 150-600mm lens @ 900mm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Why is this week’s Moon a ‘Blue Moon’?<\/strong><\/h2>
Because there was a full Moon on 1 August, that means there\u2019s room for a second full Moon within the month of August.<\/p>
This occurs on 31 August at 02:35 BST (01:35 UT), 9 hours and 44 minutes after perigee on 30 August at 16:51 BST (15:51 UT).<\/p>
That makes it also a perigee full Moon and the closest of the four occurring this year.<\/p>
As the second full Moon in a month, it\u2019s known as a ‘Blue Moon’, so this supermoon is dubbed a ‘Super Blue Moon’.<\/p>
Get weekly Moon dates and phases delivered directly to your email inbox by signing up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
$\"A$
A perigee full Moon (left) appears 30 larger than an apogee full Moon (right). Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
What is a blue Moon?<\/strong><\/h2>
A Blue Moon being \u2018the second full Moon in a month\u2019 isn\u2019t what the term used to mean, but a misinterpretation that appeared in print in 1946.<\/p>
As it\u2019s easier to understand than the original \u2018third full Moon in a season of four\u2019 meaning, it stuck.<\/p>
Ironically, full Moons at this time of year tend to rise at a fairly leisurely pace, staying at low altitude.<\/p>
Consequently, the 31 August Blue Moon is more likely to appear orange than blue!<\/p>
For more on this, read our guide on why the Moon sometimes appears orange<\/a>.<\/p>
Podcast: how to see the Super Blue Moon<\/strong><\/h2>
\n\n<\/div><\/figure> <p><em><strong>This article originally appeared in the August 2023 issue of <\/strong><\/em><strong>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a ‘Blue Moon’, when can we see it in 2023, and is it really worth the hype? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":48776,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/08\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon.jpg",1024,682,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/08\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/08\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/08\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/08\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon.jpg",800,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/08\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon.jpg",1024,682,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/08\/how-to-see-tonights-super-blue-moon.jpg",1024,682,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What is a 'Blue Moon', when can we see it in 2023, and is it really worth the hype?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/48775"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}