Super Blue Moon In August - Everything You Need To Know
The second full moon of August 2023 is set to rise on the 30th. It will be a Supermoon and Blue moon combo. Here is everything you need to know about the Super Blue Moon.
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00:00 August begins and ends with a full moon, making for a special occurrence that only happens
00:05 every couple of years.
00:07 You see, a second full moon in a single calendar month is commonly called a blue moon.
00:13 They happen every two to three years because the moon's monthly cycle is just a bit shorter
00:18 than the average length of a month.
00:20 So eventually a full moon will happen at the beginning of a month with enough days left
00:24 for a complete lunar cycle.
00:26 When that happens, we get a blue moon.
00:29 But there's more.
00:30 The August 30th blue moon is also a supermoon.
00:34 The moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle, so sometimes it's a little farther away from
00:38 Earth and sometimes closer.
00:41 At its closest point, called perigee, it's 14% closer than at its farthest.
00:47 About three to four times a year, the full moon phase happens to coincide with the moon
00:52 reaching perigee, and we call that event a supermoon.
00:56 While it technically appears a bit bigger and a tad brighter than the average full moon,
01:00 the difference is not super noticeable to the eye.
01:03 The combination of these two special full moons making for a super blue moon occurs
01:09 about every 10 years on average, though the time between any two occurrences can vary
01:15 from two months to two decades or more.
01:18 So enjoy this month's two full moons.
01:21 And while the second one won't appear supersized or any bluer than usual, now you know what
01:27 makes it special.
01:28 (whooshing)