{"id":48785,"date":"2023-09-01T08:24:13","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T08:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ab823bc3-8c58-4422-bd23-cc01ff4f5d52"},"modified":"2023-09-01T09:32:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T09:32:33","slug":"the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures\/","title":{"rendered":"The 31 August 2023 Super Blue Moon in pictures"},"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: Friday, 01 September 2023 at 08:24 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The 31 August 2023 Super Blue Moon in pictures<\/h1>
The full Moon on 30 August 2023 shone big and bright, and is what’s known by some as a ‘super blue Moon’.<\/p>
And moongazers were out in force again the following evening, 31 August, to catch another glimpse of the supermoon.<\/p>
Here are some of the best images of the August 2023 Super Blue Moon, sent in to us by astrophotographers around the globe.<\/p>\n
Soumyadeep Mukherjee captured this image of the Blue Supermoon from Kolkata, India, 30 August 2023. Equipment: Nikon D5600, Sigma 150-600mm, Leofoto tripod. Exposure: f\/6.3, 1 second, ISO 800, 600mm<\/figcaption><\/figure>
$\"S\u00e9rgio$
S\u00e9rgio Concei\u00e7\u00e3o captured this image of the Super Blue Moon over the Juromenha Fortress in Alentejo, Portugal, 30 August 2023. The time-lapse image was created with a separation of 2.5 minutes. Images were captured at 8:13 pm in Portugal. Equipment: Canon EOS R DSLR camera, 400mm lens. Exposure: 1\/60, 1\/50, 1\/40, f\/5.6, ISO 400<\/figcaption><\/figure>
$\"A$
A view of the Super Blue Moon over the Nile River, Cairo, Egypt, 31 August 2023. Captured by Osama Fathi.\nEquipment: Nikon Z6 (Mod), RedCat51, Barlow 3X.\nExposure: Single Shot, 1\/30 sec, ISO 2000, f\/4.5<\/figcaption><\/figure>
$\"The$
The Super Blue Moon, captured as a mineral Moon by Anupam Naskar, Kolkata, India, 30 August 2023, 9.30pm. Equipment: Nikon D7500 camera, Sigma 150-500mm lens @ 500mm, iOptron Skyguider Pro.\nExposure: f\/11, ISO 400, SS : 1\/125sec\nSoftware: PIPP, Autostackert, Registax, Adobe PS<\/figcaption><\/figure>
$\"A$
A view of the Super Blue Moon captured in the morning of 31 August 2023 by Taranjot Singh, Sydney, Australia. Equipment: Nikon D850 camera, Nikkor 200-500mm lens, tripod.\nExposure: f\/5.6, ISO 200, shutter 1\/5<\/figcaption><\/figure>
$\"A$
A view of the Super Blue Moon captured by Sonali Deshmukh from Omaha, Nebraska, USA, 30 August 2023, 8:44pm local time. Equipment: Canon EOS R6 DSLR camera, 240mm lens.\nExposure:ISO 12,800 , F\/13, 1\/25s\nEditing in Photoshop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
August’s blue Moon explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n
$\"Comparison$
Comparison between the perigee (closest) and apogee (farthest) Moons. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
How much bigger is a ‘Super Blue Moon’ 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’ by considering how the Moon appeared in the 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>
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 was the 31 August Moon a ‘Blue Moon’?<\/strong><\/h2>
Because there was a full Moon on 1 August, that meant there was room for a second full Moon within the month of August.<\/p>
This occured 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 made it also a perigee full Moon and the closest of the four occurring in 2023.<\/p>
As the second full Moon in a month, it\u2019s known as a ‘Blue Moon’, so this supermoon was 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 was 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":48786,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures.jpg",1024,682,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures.jpg",800,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures.jpg",1024,682,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2023\/09\/the-31-august-2023-super-blue-moon-in-pictures.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\/48785"}],"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\/48786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}