Stargazers are in for a treat this week as the second full Moon for the month, a Blue Moon, will peak at 8:36 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023.
According to the Farmers Almanac, this Full Moon is also a “Supermoon.” In fact, it’s the closest Supermoon of 2023.
“Supermoon” is a catchy term for what astronomers call “a perigean full Moon” which is when the full Moon happens at or near its closest point to Earth in its oval-shaped orbit.
- 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.
- A supermoon exceeds the disk size of an average-sized Moon by up to 8% and the brightness of an average-sized full Moon by some 16%. You may not perceive the difference in size, but a supermoon will appear brighter in the sky.
- A Supermoon can also cause higher tides than usual.
In 2023, we have a Blue Moon and a Supermoon on the same night, which happens roughly every 10 years. This won’t occur again for another 14 years, in the night sky in January and March 2037.
