The month of August will be ending with a celestial spectacle as a bright supermoon and the planet Saturn put on a show in the night sky. The full Moon, which will peak on the evening of August 30, will appear full through Friday morning. Alongside the moon, Saturn will make its closest and brightest appearance of the year. It will be visible about 5 degrees to the upper right of the moon and will appear to move clockwise around it. This event occurs because Saturn reached opposition on August 27, making it visible in our night sky.

Both full moons in August can be considered supermoons, as they appear larger and brighter due to their closer proximity to Earth. The moon will be approximately 222,043 miles away from Earth, nearly 18,000 miles closer than its average distance. The supermoon may have an impact on Hurricane Idalia, enhancing tides and worsen storm surge due to the increased gravitational effect of the moon on the oceans.

In addition to being a supermoon, the second full moon in August is also known as a blue moon. While the term “blue moon” refers to a rare event, the moon itself will not appear blue in color. The next supermoon will rise on September 29, and the remaining full moons for the rest of the year include the Harvest moon in September, the Hunter’s moon in October, the Beaver moon in November, and the Cold moon in December.

Aside from the moon and Saturn, there are other celestial events to look forward to. An annular solar eclipse will be visible in North, Central, and South America, in which the moon will appear smaller than the sun and encircled by a glowing halo. A partial lunar eclipse will also take place in October, visible in parts of Europe, Asia, Australia, North America, and South Africa.

Lastly, several meteor showers are expected to peak later in the year, including the Orionids in October, the Southern and Northern Taurids in November, the Leonids in November, the Geminids in December, and the Ursids in December. These meteor showers will be most visible in areas without light pollution during late evening until dawn.

Sources:

– NASA

– EarthSky

– National Hurricane Center

– Farmers’ Almanac

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