SPACE
Why will there be 2 Supermoons in August 2023?
Stargazers get the chance to see another Supermoon tonight due to the science of orbit producing a “once in a blue moon” opportunity.
The Sturgeon Supermoon at the beginning of August was the first Supermoon this month, a phenomena when the moon is at its closest to Earth during its orbit.
Anyone who missed the spectacle need not fret, for another Supermoon is rearing its crater-ridden face tonight. It will happen on the night of August 30-31. Many people head to the Griffith Observatory, one of the highest points in Los Angeles, to witness this gift of mother nature.
This all down to how the moon orbits around the Earth. Our moon does not travel in a perfect circle but instead has an elliptical orbit. There are times when it is further away than usual while the Supermoon is the opposite.
When the full moon coincides with the point in its orbit closest to Earth, called perigee, it appears about 14% larger and 30% brighter than when it is at its farthest point, called apogee. NASA describes a Supermoon as a “a full Moon that comes within at least 90 percent of perigee.”
This sometimes happens four times year.
The terminology of the second Supermoon
Normally there is one full moon every 30 days, which means that most months have only one full moon. However, occasionally, a calendar month can accommodate two full moons, and when this happens, the second full moon of a month is referred to as a “blue moon.”
They happen every two to three years on average, becoming the root of the saying “once in a blue moon” to indicate something rare happening.
The blue moon will take place on the night of 30 August in the US.
The name has nothing to do with the colour, which remains consistent to the rest of the year.