It's a phenomenon that many people look forward to every year. Super Moons - pink, blue, etc. - don't have the virtues they're supposed to have, and there's no amazing color in the sky on those evenings when the moon is full! On the night of August 1 to 2, 2023, the so-called "Sturgeon Moon" will light up the summer sky, with a slightly brighter-than-usual luminosity and an impression, seen from Earth, that the star is larger than usual.
The second Super Moon of the summer after the Stag Moon at the beginning of July, this full moon is described as 14% larger and 30% brighter than a classic one, and occurs as the Moon is closest to its orbit, at perigee. As every year, several of these phenomena take place between July and September, much to the delight of astronomers. If the difference is almost invisible to the naked eye, a telescope will allow you to enjoy it to the full!
To see it at its best, you'll have to wait until 7:52 a.m. on August 2, in the early hours of the morning, near the constellation Capricorn. By then, it will be 357,310 km from Earth! But where does theexpression "Super Moon"come from? It dates back to 1979, when astrologer Richard Nolle decided to use the term "Supermoon" to describe this phenomenon, which has since been adopted by NASA and the media. Scientists, for their part, prefer the term "perigee-syzygy".
As for the sturgeon's astonishing name, it comes from the 1930s, when the Farmer's Almanac in Maine began publishing the Native American names for full moons. The one at the beginning of August was thus associated by these people with the sturgeon, a fish presumably easier to catch at this time of year in the Great Lakes!
Moon, shooting stars, eclipse: what not to miss in the sky this year 2024
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Moon, shooting stars, eclipse: what not to miss in the sky this year 2024
