Keep an eye out starting at 12 a.m. tomorrow night. Take a look at this cosmic phenomenon. A supermoon's disk size surpasses that of an average-sized Moon by up to 8%, while its brightness exceeds that of an average-sized full Moon by about 16%. Contrary to popular belief, a Blue Moon has nothing to do with the Moon's blue tint. However, real, blue-tinted Moons are extremely rare due to particles pushed into the atmosphere by natural disasters, according to the US space agency.
Voice 9, Science Desk: According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, a reference book collecting weather forecasts, it is traditionally known as the 'Sturgeon Moon' because the gigantic sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain in the United States were most easily captured around this time of summer.
The first full Moon of
the month will appear on the afternoon of August 1 at 2.32 p.m. EDT (12.02 a.m.
IST on August 2), according to NASA. Around this period, the Moon will be full for
three days, from early Monday morning to early Thursday morning.
Generally, Blue Moons occur every 2 to 3 years. The last Blue Moon was on August 22, 2021. "Warm summer nights are the ideal time to watch the full moon rise in the eastern sky within minutes of sunset, and it happens twice in August," retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak was quoted as saying to Sky.com.
The last time two full supermoons appeared in the same month was in 2018, and it won't happen again until 2037, the report quoted Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project, as saying. Hence the phrase "once in a blue moon".
