Super Blue Moon In August - Everything You Need To Know - video Dailymotion

Space.com

The second full moon of August 2023 is set to rise on the 30th. It will be a Supermoon and Blue moon combo. Here is everything you need to know about the Super Blue Moon.

Transcript

00:00 August begins and ends with a full moon, making for a special occurrence that only happens

00:05 every couple of years.

00:07 You see, a second full moon in a single calendar month is commonly called a blue moon.

00:13 They happen every two to three years because the moon's monthly cycle is just a bit shorter

00:18 than the average length of a month.

00:20 So eventually a full moon will happen at the beginning of a month with enough days left

00:24 for a complete lunar cycle.

00:26 When that happens, we get a blue moon.

00:29 But there's more.

00:30 The August 30th blue moon is also a supermoon.

00:34 The moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle, so sometimes it's a little farther away from

00:38 Earth and sometimes closer.

00:41 At its closest point, called perigee, it's 14% closer than at its farthest.

00:47 About three to four times a year, the full moon phase happens to coincide with the moon

00:52 reaching perigee, and we call that event a supermoon.

00:56 While it technically appears a bit bigger and a tad brighter than the average full moon,

01:00 the difference is not super noticeable to the eye.

01:03 The combination of these two special full moons making for a super blue moon occurs

01:09 about every 10 years on average, though the time between any two occurrences can vary

01:15 from two months to two decades or more.

01:18 So enjoy this month's two full moons.

01:21 And while the second one won't appear supersized or any bluer than usual, now you know what

01:27 makes it special.

01:28 (whooshing)

Super Blue Moon In August - Everything You Need To Know

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended