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The August full moon rises tonight (August 22), bringing sky watchers a rare seasonal “Blue Moon”.
The full moon, also known as the “Sturgeon Moon”, reached its peak Sunday morning at 8:02 am EDT (1200 GMT). For New York City watchers, the full moon will rise at 8:47 p.m., after sunset at 7:45 p.m. local time that day. However, it will appear large in the sky on Saturday and Sunday evenings, according to The Farmers’ Almanac.
Full moons occur when the moon is exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. Typically, a full moon occurs 12 times a year, or three times for each of the four seasons.
Related: The August 2021 full moon is a blue moon. Here’s why.
Moon kit for Orion GoScope II 70 telescope: $ 89.99 at Amazon
If you know a youngster who never tires of the moon, they’ll be delighted with the views through the Orion GoScope II. Revealing craters and seas up close, this tiny telescope comes complete with a carrying case and moon map.
While the term Blue Moon is generally reserved for the second full moon of a calendar month, the August sturgeon moon is considered a blue moon based on an older definition of the term, which represents the third full moon which occurs in a single season – in this case, summer – which has four full moons, according to a NASA full moon guide.
“The first recorded use of ‘Blue Moon’ in English dates back to 1528,” wrote NASA’s Gordon Johnston in the August and September Full Moon Guide. Speculation about the origin of the term includes an Old English phrase meaning ‘treacherous moon’ or a reference to rare events, such as when dust in the atmosphere causes the moon to appear blue. Since the 1940s, the term Blue Moon was also used for the second full moon of a month which has two full moons. ”
It wasn’t until the 1940s that the term “Blue Moon” was used to describe the second full moon of a month with two full moons, according to the NASA statement.
The August full moon is traditionally called the sturgeon moon, after the giant sturgeon fish of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, which was most easily caught during this time of summer, according to The Farmers’ Almanac. .
Related: Full moon names (and more) for 2021
However, this month’s full moon also has a few other nicknames, including Flying Up Moon, which comes from the Cree of Ontario in reference to August when young birds are finally ready to learn to fly. According to The Farmers’ Almanac, other names include the corn moon, harvest moon, rice moon, and black cherry moon, each representing various seasonal changes or maturing crops from different crops.
Editor’s Note: If you have an amazing photo or video of the night sky that you would like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik at [email protected].
Follow Samantha Mathewson @ Sam_Ashley13. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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